5 folks, together with a nine-year-old boy, have been killed when a person drove a automotive right into a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on December 20.
Greater than 200 folks have been injured within the assault on Friday night, together with about 40 individuals who sustained critical or vital accidents.
On Tuesday, Germany’s president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier used his conventional Christmas handle to the nation to name for nationwide unity.
He stated: “A darkish shadow hangs over this Christmas.”
“Hatred and violence should not have the ultimate phrase. Let’s not enable ourselves to be pushed aside. Let’s stand collectively.”
Authorities reported that the suspect used emergency exit routes to entry the Christmas market grounds, the place he ploughed by way of the group throughout a three-minute rampage. The person surrendered himself to the police on the scene.
The Magdeburg police division stated in a press release on Sunday that the suspect has been positioned in investigative detention on the suspicion of 5 counts of homicide and a number of counts of tried homicide and grievous bodily hurt.
Right here’s what we all know concerning the suspect:
Who’s the suspect?
The suspect has been recognized as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany for nearly twenty years.
He’s employed at a clinic specialising in treating offenders with dependancy points however has been on sick depart for the reason that finish of October.
He has described himself as a “Saudi atheist” and an activist vital of Islam who has helped former Muslims flee from Gulf international locations.
Al-Abdulmohsen has been energetic on-line, criticising Germany for accepting too many Muslim refugees and supporting far-right conspiracy theories concerning the “Islamisation” of Europe.
Der Spiegel information journal reported that al-Abdulmohsen was a supporter of the anti-immigrant Different for Germany (AfD) get together.
Mina Ahadi, chairwoman of Germany’s Central Council of Ex-Muslims, informed the German every day newspaper Tageszeitung that the suspect was identified to the council and he had tried to ship a donation about eight years in the past.
She recalled his behaviour as “aggressive” and stated she felt like she was “coping with a mentally ailing individual”.
Ahadi wrote on X on Saturday that al-Abdulmohsen had “terrorised” the council for a number of years.
“His delusional concepts went to this point that he assumed that even organisations vital of Islamism have been a part of the Islamist conspiracy,” she stated.
What have the authorities stated?
German Inside Minister Nancy Faeser informed reporters on Saturday: “At this stage, the one factor we will say with certainty is that the perpetrator was clearly Islamophobic. We are able to already affirm that. Every thing else is topic to additional investigations.”
On Sunday she stated the attacker did “not match any earlier sample” as a result of “he acted like an Islamist terrorist though ideologically he was clearly an enemy of Islam”.
Parliamentary committee hearings might be held on December 30 into the assault through which Faeser and the heads of Germany’s home and overseas intelligence companies will reply questions, a senior lawmaker informed the AFP information company.
What was the suspect’s motive?
Magdeburg Prosecutor Horst Nopens stated on Saturday that one issue contributing to the suspect’s motives could possibly be his frustration with Germany’s dealing with of Saudi refugees.
The suspect had issued on-line demise threats concentrating on German residents and had a document of conflicts with state authorities.
In line with a Der Spiegel information journal report which quoted safety sources, the Saudi secret service alerted the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Germany’s overseas intelligence company, a 12 months earlier a few tweet through which al-Abdulmohsen warned that Germany would face penalties for its therapy of Saudi refugees.
In August he wrote on social media: “Is there a path to justice in Germany with out blowing up a German embassy or randomly slaughtering German residents?… If anybody is aware of it, please let me know.”
Quoting safety sources, Die Welt newspaper reported that the German state and federal police carried out a “threat evaluation” on al-Abdulmohsen final 12 months however concluded he posed “no particular hazard”.
What else is understood concerning the suspect’s motives?
Felix Neumann, coverage adviser on safety points at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Basis, informed Al Jazeera it was initially assumed that the incident was “an Islamist assault because it was similar to the assault on Breitscheidplatz in 2016” when a truck intentionally drove right into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 folks.
“Trying on the feedback he made on-line, nonetheless, it’s now somewhat unlikely that it was an Islamist assault,” Neumann stated.
“The perpetrator was very vital of Islam and shared right-wing extremist narratives on his X account. Additional investigations will present what motivated him ultimately, however the idea of ‘salad bar extremism’ may apply right here.
“Because of this people individually select these facets which can be believable for them, however there isn’t a uniform, coherent ideology.”
May the federal government have carried out extra to forestall the assault?
Neumann stated: “Germany is a federal system, which has numerous benefits, however sharing data shouldn’t be one among them.
“Overseas intelligence companies and people who supplied details about the perpetrator’s potential hazard should now be investigated, and it have to be established the place there have been errors within the chain of knowledge sharing.
“This should then be optimised in order that potential risk analyses may be handed on higher between the authorities.”
