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| Candles, flowers and wreaths sit in front of the entrance to St. John’s Church early Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Magdeburg, Germany, after a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market on Friday, Dec. 20. (Sebastian Kahnert/dpa via AP) |
BY C STONE | STONE NEWS NETWORK
[MAGDEBURG, GERMANY]
German police say they had reports last year about a suspect in a car attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg - after about 5 people were murdered.
The suspect, a Saudi doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 and was a permanent resident of Germany. Some news agencies have identified him as Taleb A. - a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.
The suspect is described as an ex-Muslim, who was highly critical of Islam and in posts on social media showed support for the far-right anti-immigrant alternative for Germany party (AFD).
The suspect drove his vehicle through a crowd, severely injuring dozens of people and killing 5, including 1 young child.
German investigators said:
“The man also published a huge number of posts on the internet. He also had contact with various authorities, made insults and even threats. However, he was not known to have committed acts of violence,” said Münch, whose office is the German equivalent of the FBI.
“He apparently shared beliefs from the far-right spectrum of the AfD and believed in a large-scale conspiracy aimed at Islamizing Germany. His delusional ideas went so far that he assumed that even organizations critical of Islamism were part of the Islamist conspiracy,” said the statement.
Authorities said 200 people were injured, including 41 in serious condition. They were being treated in multiple hospitals in Magdeburg, which is about 130 kilometers (80 miles) west of Berlin, and beyond.
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