"Insane act" Grief, horror and unanswered questions after the attack in Magdeburg
Following the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg, which left five people dead and many seriously injured, the focus is shifting to investigating possible failures on the part of the authorities. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser has promised a comprehensive investigation into the crime.
22.12.2024, 17:00
22.12.2024, 17:59
SDA
"The views and statements made by the perpetrator will be investigated, as will the information and proceedings that were conducted by various authorities and the judiciary," said the SPD politician. The perpetrator Taleb A. had already attracted attention with threats years ago. Several authorities were made aware of him.
On Friday evening, the 50-year-old drove a rental car through the crowd at a Christmas market in the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt. A nine-year-old child and four women were killed and more than 200 people were injured, some of them seriously. Taleb A. was arrested immediately after the crime.
The doctor from Bernburg, south of Magdeburg, comes from Saudi Arabia, has lived in Germany since 2006 and was granted asylum as a politically persecuted person in 2016. He is known as an activist critical of Islam and is now in custody. He is accused of five counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder and multiple counts of grievous bodily harm.
Faeser: Perpetrator does not fit any previous pattern
The authorities are still puzzled by the man's profile. "We need to piece together all the findings that paint a picture of this perpetrator, who does not fit any previous mold," said Faeser. The perpetrator had acted in an unbelievably cruel and brutal manner - "like an Islamist terrorist, although ideologically he was obviously an Islamophobe".
The President of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, said on ZDF television that the suspect had an Islamophobic attitude and had also been involved with right-wing extremist platforms. However, it is not yet possible to say conclusively that the crime was politically motivated.
Already conspicuous in 2013
Taleb A. had attracted attention in various places in recent years: In 2013, the Rostock district court sentenced him to 90 daily rates for disturbing the public peace. According to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Interior Minister Christian Pegel (SPD), he had threatened to commit an act that would attract international attention in a dispute over the recognition of examination results. He had referred to the attack at the Boston Marathon. During a search, however, no evidence was found of any real preparations for an attack.
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) also received a tip-off about Taleb A via its social media channels in late summer 2023. "This was taken seriously, like every other of the numerous tips," the Bamf wrote on the X platform. As is usual in such cases, the person providing the information was referred directly to the responsible authorities.
The Magdeburg police had filed a criminal complaint a year ago. The Berlin public prosecutor's office also had a case against Taleb A. for misuse of emergency calls. This was first reported by "Der Spiegel".
Proceedings after tip-off from Saudi Arabia
According to BKA chief Münch, proceedings were initiated after a tip-off from Saudi Arabia about the man in November 2023. However, the case was unspecific. "He also had various contacts with the authorities, insults and sometimes threats. But he was not known for acts of violence," Münch told ZDF.
Faeser announced that she would inform the domestic policy spokespersons of the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag again on Monday about the current state of knowledge. "In a possible special session of the Committee on Internal Affairs, the heads of our security authorities and I will once again provide information on the status of the investigation." Politicians from several parties had previously demanded clarification. The fact that the perpetrator was able to get into the Christmas market in his car despite a security concept is also causing debate.
What could be the motive for the crime?
On Saturday, Chief Public Prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens named dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia in Germany as a possible motive for the perpetrator. A spokesman for the public prosecutor's office said that the man's comments on his motives had sounded rather confused.
On social networks, the arrested man presented himself as a vehement critic of Islam and the repressive power apparatus in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, he campaigned for the interests of women in particular from his arch-conservative home country.
Only around ten days ago, the American platform "RAIR", which describes itself as an anti-Muslim grassroots organization, published an interview with the doctor lasting more than 45 minutes. In it, he accused the German police of deliberately destroying the lives of Saudi asylum seekers who had renounced Islam. He also presented himself as a fan of X-owner Elon Musk, who now represents positions of the American right, and the AfD, which pursues the same goals as him. At the same time, however, he described himself as politically left-wing.
Hundreds mourn the victims of the attack
In Magdeburg, the shock after the attack runs deep. The crime scene has been open to passers-by again since Sunday afternoon. Many people took the opportunity to walk between the closed stalls. Hundreds of people gathered for a vigil at St. John's Church, the central place of mourning in Magdeburg. Many people had tears in their eyes and held each other in their arms. They stood in silence with a view of the ever-growing sea of flowers.
Numerous people had already gathered for a memorial service on Saturday evening. In addition to Minister President Reiner Haseloff (CDU), Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) were also present. However, there was also a rally in Magdeburg city center with right-wing slogans.
Scholz had previously spoken of a "terrible, insane act" during a visit to the crime scene. There is no more peaceful and cheerful place than a Christmas market. It was now important to investigate the crime with precision and accuracy, he said. At the same time, he called on "us to stay together as a country, to stick together and to unite so that hatred does not define our coexistence".