The car that was crashed into a crowd of people at the Magdeburg Christmas market is seen following the attack in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday early morning, Dec. 21, 2024(Image: AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Magdeburg attack: Everything we know about chief suspect 'Taleb A' as death toll rises to five

by · Irish Mirror

Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.

Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after ploughing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.

Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.

READ MORE: Magdeburg Christmas market attack: Suspect 'Taleb A' spotted staring at armed cops after tragedy

READ MORE: Magdeburg attack: Germany in mourning with 'no answers' to cause of Christmas markets tragedy

Taleb's X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.

Magdeburg: Police arrest suspect after Christmas market attack(Image: AP)

He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the "Islamism of Europe." He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.

Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: "After 25 years in this `business' you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists - that really wasn't on my radar."

Security guards stand in front of a cordoned-off Christmas Market after a car crashed into a crowd of people, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday early morning, Dec. 21, 2024(Image: AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Special police forces attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany(Image: AP)

On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: "At this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic - we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait."

The state governor, Reiner Haseloff, told reporters that the death toll rose to five from a previous figure of two and that more than 200 people in total were injured. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that nearly 40 of them "are so seriously injured that we must be very worried about them".

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