German authorities probe motive in deadly Christmas market attack By Reuters

Written by Thomas Escritt and Rachel Moore

MAGDEBURG, Germany (Reuters) – Authorities investigated a Saudi doctor with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric as the suspected driver in a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, killing five people and wounding dozens.

The attack on Friday evening on crowds gathered to celebrate the Christmas season could fuel a heated debate in Germany over security and immigration before the national elections scheduled for February, as opinion polls indicate that the far right will perform strongly.

Authorities said Saturday that the motive was unclear. However, Magdeburg prosecutor Horst Nobbens said one possible factor could be what he described as the suspect’s frustration with Germany’s handling of Saudi refugees.

The suspect, a 50-year-old psychiatrist who has lived in Germany for nearly two decades, was arrested at the scene after the three-minute attack in the central city that shocked the country. Police did not name the suspect, identified by German media only as Talib A.

A city police official told reporters that the driver used emergency exit points to drive the car slowly towards the market, before he increased his speed and ran over the crowd.

Ronnie Krug, an official in the city of Magdeburg, said that the dead were a nine-year-old child and four adults, adding that about 41 of the injured were seriously or critically injured.

“I don’t know about you, but I associate the Christmas market with mulled wine and sausages, and people died yesterday in this area. Others are fighting for their lives,” Krug said.

The authorities closed the market for the rest of the season.

Chancellor Olaf Schulz said during a visit to the city, where he placed a white rose on one of the churches: “What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people with such brutality.”

Online Posts

Posts on the suspect’s X account, verified by Reuters, indicate that he supports anti-Islam and far-right parties, including the AfD, and has criticized Germany over its treatment of Saudi refugees.

German Interior Minister Nancy Weiser said that the suspect’s hatred for Islam was clearly visible, but she refused to comment on the motive.

Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and the current candidate to succeed Schulz as chancellor, warned against drawing hasty conclusions.

He added: “The horrific act that occurred yesterday in Magdeburg does not fit the usual pattern.”

Student A appeared. In a number of media interviews in 2019, including with German newspaper FAZ and the BBC, he spoke about his work as an activist helping Saudis and people who have turned away from Islam flee to Europe.

“There is no good Islam,” he told FAZ at the time.

A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia warned the German authorities about the suspect after he published extremist views on his X account that threaten peace and security.

A German security source said that the Saudi authorities sent several pieces of information in 2023 and 2024, and they were transferred to the relevant security authorities.

The Welt newspaper reported, citing security sources, that a risk assessment conducted last year by German federal and state criminal investigators concluded that the man did not pose a “specific danger.”

German domestic and foreign intelligence agencies declined to comment on the investigation. Federal and state criminal investigation offices did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

“Screaming children”

Andrea Rees was at the market on Friday and returned on Saturday with her daughter, Julia, to place a candle next to the church overlooking the site. She said she narrowly escaped being in the car’s path.

Tears streamed down her face as she described the scene. “The children are screaming and crying for Mama. You can’t forget that,” she said.

Schulz’s Social Democratic Party is lagging behind the far-right Alternative for Germany party and the front-runner conservative opposition in opinion polls ahead of early elections scheduled for February 23.

The AfD, which has particularly strong support in the former east, has led calls to crack down on immigration.

Her chancellor candidate Alice Weidel and co-leader Tino Shrubala issued a statement condemning the attack.