Summary
A car ploughed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, killing at least two people, including a child, and injuring 68 others, 15 critically, in what authorities are treating as a terror attack.
The suspect, identified as Taleb A., a Saudi Arabian psychiatrist living in Germany since 2006, was arrested at the scene. He allegedly drove a rented BMW through the crowded market, targeting families and children.
The attack raised concerns about security at Christmas markets despite preventive measures like bollards. German and French leaders expressed shock and condolences.
This incident follows heightened vigilance since a 2016 truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market that killed 13 people.
Since the article does not mention it at all, the person in question was following and sharing racist rhetoric online - posts from AfD and Elon Musk, for example. He feared an “Islamization” of Germany and seemed to be very angry about it.
It is an important observation to report on, especially because people would assume him to be a racial stereotype that he is not. It is also responsible to include the details given that so much about him has already been shared online.
Hypothesis (shooting from the hip here, apologies if I miss by a kilometer):
- an ex-muslim radicalized as an anti-islamist authoritarian rightwinger goes into a mental health crisis
- his ideology prevents him from seeking help or treatment
- being angry about everything, decides to take random people with him in his suicide by cop
- tries to win his favourite party an election by committing a terror attack typically associated with islamists
- remains alive to face trial
Additional speculation: his former home country (Saudi Arabia) - known for sending teams of assassins with bone saws to kill dissidents in embassies when they apply for a passport - warns about the man, but nobody takes Saudi Arabia’s warnings seriously because they’re a tyranny that kills people. The warning gets thrown away along with loads of false warnings by Saudi Arabia.
As for news, here’s another primary source:
A man drove a car into a group of people at a Christmas market in Magdeburg early Friday evening. According to SPIEGEL information, there are at least five dead, including a small child. According to official information, at least 60 people were injured, including 15 seriously injured.
The driver of the car was arrested after the fatal drive. He is 50-year-old Taleb A., a doctor from nearby Bernburg. He was born in Saudi Arabia and came to Germany for the first time in 2006.
The police currently have no evidence of accomplices. According to information from security circles, the suspect is not known to be an Islamist. He appears on the Internet as an ex-Muslim and opponent of Islam. The background to the incident is still completely unclear - just like the possible motive.
SPIEGEL research has shown that Taleb A. openly sympathized with the AfD online. Read more about it here.
…but the link noted as “here” is unfortunately paywalled, so that’s where my data ends.
It does:
Some German media pointed to the suspect’s past social media posts in which he reportedly expressed views critical of Islam and had even warned of the “dangers” of an Islamisation of Germany.
A lot of commenters are going to be really embarrassed after what they wrote.
Or, well, they should be, if they have any dignity or decency.
