By Rachel More
BERLIN (Reuters) – A man suspected of plowing a car into crowds at a German Christmas market in an attack that killed five people and injured scores more faces multiple charges of murder and attempted murder, police said on Sunday.
Friday night’s attack in the central city of Magdeburg shocked the country and raised tensions over the fraught issue of immigration.
The suspect, who was in custody, is a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric who has lived in Germany for nearly two decades. The motive for the attack remained unclear.
There were clashes and some “minor disturbances” at a far-right demonstration attended by around 2,100 people on Saturday night in Magdeburg, police said. They added that criminal proceedings would follow, but gave no details.
The demonstrators, some wearing black balaclavas, held a large banner with the word “immigration”, a term popular with far-right supporters who seek the mass deportation of immigrants and people who are not considered nationally German.
Other residents gathered to pay their respects to the dead.
A judge ordered the suspect, identified in German media as Taleb A., to be remanded in custody on five counts of murder as well as multiple counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, police said in a statement.
Reuters could not immediately ascertain whether the suspect had a lawyer.
The dead were a nine-year-old boy and four women aged 52, 45, 75 and 67, the police statement said. Of the injured, about 40 had serious or critical injuries.
Authorities said the suspected gunman used emergency exits to drive into the Christmas market, where he sped through the crowds, hitting more than 200 people in a three-minute rampage. He was arrested on the spot.
German authorities did not name the suspect and German media gave his name only as Taleb A. in accordance with local privacy laws.
MOTIVATION UNCERTAIN
As authorities investigated a possible motive, Magdeburg prosecutor Horst Knoppens said on Saturday that one possible factor could be what he called the suspect’s frustration with Germany’s handling of Saudi refugees.
The suspect has been a vocal critic of Islam in the past and appeared in several media interviews in 2019 touting his work helping Saudis who had turned their backs on Islam to flee to Europe.
He had also expressed his support on social media platform X for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and for American billionaire Elon Musk, who has supported the AfD.
The AfD has strong support in the former East Germany where Magdeburg is located. Polls put her in second place nationally ahead of the February election.
Its members, including chancellor candidate Alice Weidel, planned a rally in Magdeburg on Monday night.
Saudi Arabia had repeatedly raised concerns with Germany about the suspect’s social media posts, according to a Saudi source and a German security source.
The Christian Democrats, Germany’s main opposition party, and the Free Democrats, which were part of the coalition government until its collapse last month, have called for improvements to Germany’s security apparatus, including better coordination between federal and state authorities.
“The background needs to be clarified. But above all, we need to do more to prevent such offences, especially as there were obviously specific warnings and advice in this case that were ignored,” Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the left-wing party, told Welt BSW. newspaper.
BSW, a new political party with far-left roots, has also condemned uncontrolled immigration and has gained significant support ahead of the February 23 election.
Chancellor Olaf Solz, whose Social Democrats are trailing in the polls, attended a service for the victims at Magdeburg Cathedral on Saturday.
