Crime reconstructed

“The attack in Magdeburg is a wake-up call!”

The rented car as a weapon in the crowd

(Bild: APA/AFP/John MACDOUGALL)

Grief and hatred - while relatives and the victims wept and prayed for the injured, a right-wing mob marched through the city center chanting slogans. A psychologist and expert on radicalization takes another look at the unusual course of events for the "Krone" and warns.

"Why you? Why only? I don't understand it. He was only with us on Earth for nine years. Now you're with Grandma and Grandpa in heaven. You will always live on in our hearts. I promise you that." André's mother posted this heartbreaking entry. Her boy is one of the five victims of the Magdeburg Advent market. As reported, Taleb A. - a well-known psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia, AfD supporter and Islam-hater - drove through the crowd in a BMW and caused a bloodbath.

Right-wing mob calls for "remigration"
 Grief, anger and bewilderment still dominate throughout Germany on Sunday following the horrific crime. The 50-year-old has now been remanded in custody - for five counts of murder and attempted murder. Hundreds of people took part in a vigil, laid flowers and lit candles of mourning.

Many people who come with expectations find themselves without prospects. However, it is unusual for hatred to develop from this and culminate in such an act.

Ahmad Mansour, Psychologe und Experte für Radikalisierung.

At the same time, right-wing extremist demonstrators marched in Magdeburg carrying a banner that read "Remigration". The right-wingers are also demanding this for the U prisoner.

Expert: "This attack changes everything"
But how does an Islam-hater become a man on a rampage? Ahmad Mansour, renowned psychologist and expert on radicalization, tries to explain in an interview with "Krone": "This attack changes everything we have understood about radicalization so far." For him, the suspected perpetrator is a prime example of an unusual radicalization process. As a young man in Saudi Arabia, he lived in an authoritarian environment that shaped his way of thinking.

He later developed a strong anti-Islam stance, which eventually led him to Germany. However, the expectations he had of his new life remained unfulfilled. Mansour: "His hatred of Germany stems from a deep disappointment. He sees the German government as an accomplice to Islamism, a conspiracy that abuses and betrays members of the opposition."

"This attack is a wake-up call"
This case is forcing experts to broaden their perspectives. Mansour speaks of a new front of radicalization: "We have to be open to atypical developments. The fact that someone who has fled from a regime later commits such an act was. He warns: "This attack is a wake-up call."