Germany attack suspect held anti-Islam views, was angered by migrant policy

Police were puzzling over the motive of Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, the top suspect after an SUV ploughed at high speed through a dense crowd Friday, also injuring 205 people in the eastern city of Magdeburg.

In Short

• Five people died, 205 injured in car attack in Germany's Magdeburg
• Saudi doctor Taleb al-Abdulmohsen arrested for car attack in Germany
• Police are trying to find out Taleb's motive for crashing car into Christmas market

The suspect in a deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in Germany expressed anti-Islamic views and frustration with the country’s migration policies, officials said Saturday.

The attack, which occurred days before Christmas, left five people dead, including a 9-year-old child, and injured 205 others. It shocked the nation, coming eight years after a jihadist drove a truck into a Berlin Christmas market. Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the incident as a “terrible, insane” act, vowing justice for the victims.

Authorities identified the suspect as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi national and psychiatrist. His motives remain under investigation, but officials said his past online posts revealed disdain for Islam and frustration with Germany’s policies toward refugees, particularly those from predominantly Muslim countries.

“He held Islamophobic views,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said, as quoted by news agency AFP, adding that the attack might stem from “disgruntlement with the way Saudi refugees are treated in Germany.”

Surveillance footage showed a black SUV plowing through the crowded market in Magdeburg at high speed Friday, scattering people and overturning stalls. Authorities cordoned off the area, where debris and medical supplies remained scattered Saturday. The Christmas market was canceled for the remainder of the year out of respect for the victims.

Abdulmohsen, a self-described “Saudi atheist,” had a history of online posts railing against Islam and German authorities. In one post from August, he wrote, “Is there a path to justice in Germany without blowing up a German embassy or randomly slaughtering German citizens? If anyone knows it, please let me know.”

Die Welt reported that German police conducted a risk assessment on Abdulmohsen last year but concluded he posed “no specific danger.”

Taha Al-Hajji, of the Berlin-based European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, described Abdulmohsen as “a psychologically disturbed person with an exaggerated sense of self-importance.”

Scholz, dressed in black, visited the site Saturday and laid flowers alongside other national and regional officials. He urged unity amid heated debates over immigration and security ahead of February’s elections.

“It is important that we stick together, that it is not hatred but community that determines our coexistence,” Scholz said. “I am grateful for the expressions of solidarity from many countries around the world. It is good to know we are not alone in facing this terrible catastrophe.”

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, known for its anti-immigration stance, responded to the attack on social media. “When will this madness stop?” AfD leader Alice Weidel wrote on X.

Residents expressed shock and sorrow. “I never would have believed this could happen here in an East German provincial town,” said Michael Raarig, 67, an engineer. “I think this will play into the hands of the AfD.”

Security was heightened at Christmas markets across Germany, with increased police presence in cities like Hamburg and Leipzig. German soccer players observed a moment of silence and wore black armbands during weekend matches to honour the victims.