A Saudi national, allegedly responsible for a deadly attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, which resulted in five deaths and over 200 injuries, had previously posted on social media warning that “something big will happen.”
The 50-year-old doctor, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, is currently in police custody after a black BMW SUV sped through a crowded market, driving for 400 meters and running over people, with some victims thrown into the air. Among the victims is a nine-year-old girl. Forty-one people are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, and the wounded are being treated at 15 hospitals across Germany.
Abdulmohsen, who arrived in Germany in 2006 and applied for asylum in 2016, was arrested by armed police in a tense confrontation shortly after the attack. Bystanders watched as officers ordered him to “lie on the ground” near the damaged BMW, which had mowed down dozens of people.
Forensic experts are investigating whether Abdulmohsen intentionally disabled the vehicle’s emergency braking system, which had been rented prior to the incident, to increase its destructive impact.
At a press conference on Saturday evening, police and prosecutors confirmed that initial questioning of Abdulmohsen had taken place, but they refrained from disclosing any statements made by the suspect. Chief state prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens suggested that the suspect’s possible motive could be dissatisfaction with how Saudi Arabian refugees were treated in Magdeburg. Abdulmohsen has been charged with five counts of murder and over 200 counts of attempted murder.
This is that they are Against of !
Powerful individuals and organizations are working to prevent us from publishing stories they don’t want you to see.
Lobby groups with hidden funding seek to distort facts about the climate crisis and other established sciences.
Authoritarian regimes ignore press freedom.
Disinformation campaigns are spreading online, eroding democracy.
But we have something stronger:
You.
The Guardian is supported by readers like you in India, and our editor is the only one who decides what we publish.
If you believe in independent, global journalism, we’d love for you to join us in this mission.
Pope Francis has expressed his support for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in response to the attack in Magdeburg.
In a message released by the Vatican, the Pope said he was “shocked by the news of the attack” and extended his gratitude to all those who are assisting and supporting the victims during this challenging time.
Andrea Reis, 57, earlier arrived at the nearby Magdeburg Cathedral with her daughter Julia, 34, to pay their respects.
Andrea Reis, 57, had arrived at Magdeburg Cathedral with her daughter Julia, 34, to pay their respects when the attack occurred.
Reis explained that it was only because her daughter insisted they continue walking around the market instead of stopping for a meal that they were not caught in the path of the car that barreled through the crowd.
“It was the terrible sounds, children crying ‘mama, papa,’ and shouting ‘help me’—those voices are still echoing in my mind,” Reis told Reuters.
A memorial service has begun at Magdeburg Cathedral, attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who are among the mourners.
The cathedral is located near the site of Friday evening’s attack at a Christmas market, which resulted in at least five deaths and more than 200 injuries.
Magdeburg city official Ronni Krug reported that 41 of the hundreds of people injured are in serious or critical condition.
“I don’t know about you, but I associate the Christmas market with mulled wine and bratwurst. Yet yesterday [Friday], people lost their lives here, and others are now fighting for theirs,” Krug said.
People gathered for an ecumenical memorial service at Magdeburg Cathedral. Saxony-Anhalt State Premier Reiner Haseloff confirmed that five people have died, and at least 200 others were injured, after a car was driven into a crowd at Magdeburg’s Christmas market.