Proceedings initiated

Magdeburg perpetrator to lose medical license

The suspected attacker Taleb A. is said to have killed five people.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA, TikTok)

After the death drive from the Magdeburg Christmas market, the alleged perpetrator Taleb A. is to lose his license to practice medicine (see video above). Proceedings to this effect have already been initiated.

In principle, doctors can lose their license if it later transpires that they have not completed their studies or are unreliable, for example. In the case of Taleb A., his license will initially be suspended, the state administration office in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt announced. The exercise of the activity is prohibited at least for the duration of pending criminal proceedings.

The suspected assassin had worked in a psychiatric ward in a psychiatric hospital and cared for addicted patients, among other things. According to media reports, his competence was repeatedly questioned, for example by colleagues. For example, he was said to have prescribed unnecessary tranquillizers and advised patients to drink alcohol.

Taleb A. is no longer allowed to work as a psychiatrist.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA, TikTok)

Taleb A. is currently in custody. As reported, he allegedly drove a car through the Christmas market in Magdeburg a week ago on Friday. Five people were killed and up to 235 others injured. 

No more victims in mortal danger
Magdeburg University Hospital treated 72 injured people after the attack, including 15 seriously injured. On Thursday, the Director of Intensive Care Medicine announced that none of the victims are now in mortal danger. The injured had suffered multiple bleeding and multiple broken bones, among other things.

Here you can see a post about the injured.

Organizer did not stick to his own concept
In Germany, politicians are currently discussing possible mistakes by the authorities and police. For example, it became known that escape and rescue routes were not secured with steel chains, although the organizer had specified this in the safety concept. "Such steel chains were supposed to connect concrete block barriers over a long distance. They should allow flexible opening for emergency services and the fire department to pass through," the Ministry of the Interior said.

(Bild: APA Pool/AFP/Ronny HARTMANN)

Politicians at the scene of the crime

(Bild: APA/dpa/Sebastian Kahnert)

Police after the attack

(Bild: Associated Press)

Possible mistakes in the work of the police are also being investigated. According to the Ministry of the Interior, there should have been vehicles with security forces at four locations around the Christmas market. In fact, there may only have been three and one car may have deviated from the location.

Earlier tips from the authorities are also at the center of the debate. "Obviously there have been repeated references to the man over the years. My expectation is clear: it must now be examined very carefully whether there were failures on the part of the authorities in Saxony-Anhalt or at federal level. There must be no false restraint," said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Man longer on the radar
There are said to have been warnings about the 50-year-old from Saudi Arabia, the man's home country. Criminal charges were also filed against A. in Germany, and the police conducted threat interviews. There was contact with the suspect just a few weeks before the death drive. Taleb A. was investigated for threats, defamation and sexual offenses. In a post on Platform X, he had written that he expected to "die this year".

Here you can see a picture of the closed Christmas market.

The Christmas market in Magdeburg was originally supposed to last until Sunday, December 29, but was not reopened after the attack. Now the dismantling has begun, huts and large individual parts have been loaded onto trailers. Just a few meters away, many people continue to lay flowers, candles and cuddly toys in memory of the victims a week after the attack.