Magdeburg rampage

Was contact with Saudi refugees the motive for the crime?

(Bild: Associated Press)

Following the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, the public prosecutor's office gave the first indications of a possible motive for the suspect on Saturday. "He has commented on the motive for the crime," said Horst Nopens, the senior public prosecutor in charge.

"Dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi Arabian refugees" could therefore have been the background to Taleb A.'s crime, according to Nopens. However, the senior public prosecutor did not give any further details as to exactly what kind of dissatisfaction the accused expressed.

His interrogation was still ongoing on Saturday afternoon. What is true about his statements, "we must now clarify, we must investigate further." This is a broad field. A.'s entourage must also be investigated. It had already become known after the crime on Friday evening that the 50-year-old accused was from Saudi Arabia. He had lived in Germany since 2006 and worked there as a doctor.

Investigators see attack or rampage
Nopens explained on Saturday that the investigators were indeed looking at an attack or a rampage. He is not talking about a terrorist attack - if the attack turns out to be terrorism, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe will take over the investigation. They have been investigating the case since Friday evening.

The senior public prosecutor also said that the accused, Taleb A., would be remanded in custody once the interrogations had been completed. He is currently accused of five counts of murder and 205 counts of attempted murder combined with grievous bodily harm. According to the investigators, a nine-year-old child is among the dead, the other four dead are adults.

Police received a criminal complaint against A. in 2023
As the director of the Magdeburg police, Tom-Oliver Langhans, said, the police there had already received a criminal complaint against A. earlier. However, this was a year ago. At that time, it had been planned to conduct a threat interview with A.. However, according to the information available so far, this had not taken place. Langhans did not want to comment on the allegations made at the time.

Number of victims continues to rise
The number of victims of the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg in eastern Germany on Friday evening has risen. At least five people were killed and 205 injured.