What's new

Saudi man arrested after deadly car attack on German Christmas market is reportedly an Anti-Muslim activist [Update @ Post#11]

C

Cricket Warrior

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 12, 2023
Runs
19,836
At least two people have been killed and dozens of others injured after a car was driven into a crowd at a Christmas market in Germany, local media reports.

News agency dpa said the driver has been arrested following the incident in the eastern city of Magdeburg, while public broadcaster MDR reports almost 70 people have been injured - 15 seriously.

A city spokesman said the initial assessment is that this was an attack, with all hospitals in the nearby city of Halle preparing for a mass casualty event, according to a security official.

German newspaper Bild reported at least 11 people had been killed, but the state's premier Reiner Haseloff later said two people are known to have died.


news.sky.com

Germany: At least two dead and almost 70 injured after car ploughs into crowd in city of Magdeburg

Dozens have been injured in what's been described as a car attack at a Christmas market in a German city. At least 15 people are said to be badly hurt, with a hospital preparing to receive more patients from the scene.
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 
Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun.

I hope the attacker will be caught and brought to justice.
 
Tragedy.. RIP all the poor souls

Who could be having such cruel intentions to kill people on a market road. Hindutva needs to be eliminated.
 
RIP to the deceased! Hope the injured recovers soon.

A Saudi national has been arrested.
 
Interesting back story to the perpetrator saudi ex muslim hates islam , Saudi regime apparently given asylum ?
 
Suspect reported to have been critical of Islam

The Christmas market was bustling with people when a car ploughed through the crowd for at least 400 metres (1,312ft).

Footage then emerged of armed police confronting and arresting a man who can be seen lying on the ground by a stationary vehicle on a road in Magdeburg city centre.

A state official has said the suspect is a 50-year-old doctor who’s originally from Saudi Arabia - but first came to Germany in 2006. Most recently, he’d been working in a town about 25 miles (40km) away.

According to some German news reports, the suspect was not known to authorities as an Islamist extremist, while social media and posts online appear to suggest he had been critical of Islam.

Investigators have not publicly outlined a potential motive but say they believe, for the moment, that the alleged perpetrator acted alone.

BBC
 
Saudi man arrested after deadly car attack on German Christmas market

Saudi Arabia has expressed "solidarity" with Germany after a Saudi national was arrested following a deadly car-ramming attack in a Christmas market.

In the city of Magdeburg, located about 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Berlin, the black BMW barreled through the crowd at high speed just after 7:00 pm local time on Friday when the market was filled with revelers.

Video footage showed the driver's arrest as police with their handguns trained shouted "lie down, hands on your back, don't move!" at the bearded man who was lying on the ground next to the heavily damaged car.

Police said the vehicle drove "at least 400 meters across the Christmas market" leaving a trail of bloodied casualties, debris and broken glass at the city's central town hall square.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Friday on social media platform X expressed "solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims."

It "affirmed its rejection of violence."

Authorities said at least two people were killed, including a child, and 68 injured.

The suspect is a 50-year-old medical doctor living in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, said authorities.

"We have arrested the perpetrator, a man from Saudi Arabia, a doctor who has been in Germany since 2006," authorities told reporters, calling the attack a "catastrophe" for the city and the country.

"From what we currently know he was a lone attacker so we don't think there is any further danger."

German media partially named the suspect as Taleb A.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X that "the reports from Magdeburg raise the worst fears."

"My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned the "brutal and cowardly act" in Magdeburg.

In a statement on X, the German politician said that her thoughts were "with the victims".

"My condolences go out to the family and friends, my thanks to the police and rescue workers," she said. "This act of violence must be investigated and severely punished."

www.presstv.ir

Saudi man arrested after deadly car attack on German Christmas market

Saudi Arabia has expressed "solidarity" with Germany after a Saudi national was arrested following a deadly car-ramming attack in a Christmas market.
www.presstv.ir www.presstv.ir
 
Europe has a Muslim problem and the sooner they act on it the better it would be for them if they want to save their homeland and safeguard the future of Europe. They let in the absolute worst of the immigrants from the Muslim world and are now wondering what went wrong.
 
Bhaijaan said:
Europe has a Muslim problem and the sooner they act on it the better it would be for them if they want to save their homeland and safeguard the future of Europe. They let in the absolute worst of the immigrants from the Muslim world and are now wondering what went wrong.
Click to expand...
Saudis warned German Authorities about this guys Extremists views. He was a closet AFD Sympathizer (far Right Extremist Group) .

Yet you jumped to your anti muslim bandwagon to quickly.
 

Death toll from German Christmas market car-ramming rises to four, Bild reports​


The death toll from a car-ramming at a German Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg rose to four on Saturday, according to German newspaper Bild, after a Saudi man was arrested on suspicion of ploughing a car into the crowd.

Scores of people were injured in the attack on Friday evening, which came amid fierce debate over security and migration during an election campaign in Europe's largest economy in which the far right is polling strongly.

Police were not immediately available to comment on the reported casualty figures. Local officials had initially said at least two people were killed and had warned that the toll could rise.

The Bild report said 41 people were critically injured, 86 were receiving hospital treatment for serious injuries and another 78 sustained minor injuries.

German authorities are investigating a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who has lived in Germany for almost two decades in connection with the car-ramming. Police searched his home overnight.

The motive remained unclear and police have not yet named the suspect. He has been named in German media as Taleb A.
A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the attacker after he posted extremist views on his personal X account that threatened peace and security.

Der Spiegel reported that the suspect had sympathised with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The magazine did not say where it got the information.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.

Germany's FAZ newspaper said it interviewed the suspect in 2019, describing him as an anti-Islam activist.

"People like me, who have an Islamic background but are no longer believers, are met with neither understanding nor tolerance by Muslims here," he was quoted as saying. "I am history's most aggressive critic of Islam. If you don't believe me, ask the Arabs."

Andrea Reis, who had been at the market on Friday, returned on Saturday with her daughter Julia to lay a candle by the church overlooking the site. She said that had it not been for a matter of moments, they may have been in the car's path.

"I said, 'let's go and get a sausage', but my daughter said 'no let's keep walking around'. If we'd stayed where we were we'd have been in the car's path," she said.

Tears ran down her face as she described the scene. "Children screaming, crying for mama. You can't forget that," she said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled to visit Magdeburg later on Saturday.

His Social Democrats are trailing both the far-right AfD and the frontrunner conservative opposition in opinion polls ahead of snap elections set for Feb. 23.

The AfD has led calls for a crackdown on migration to the country.

Its chancellor candidate Alice Weidel and co-leader Tino Chrupalla issued a statement on Saturday condemning the attack.
"The terrible attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg in the middle of the peaceful pre-Christmas period has shaken us," they said.

A leading member of Scholz's Social Democrats in the Bundestag parliament warned against jumping to conclusions and said it appeared the attacker did not have an Islamist motive.

"Now we have to wait for the investigations. It seems that things are different here than was initially assumed," Dirk Wiese told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

 
German chancellor 'very worried' about condition of 40 injured people

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is making a statement at the Magdeburg Christmas market.

He speaks of the "brutality" of killing and injuring so many people in a place where families come together to celebrate.

Nearly 40 people "are so seriously injured we must be very worried about them", he says.

More than 200 were injured in total. Five people were killed.

"It is a terribly, tragic incident."

He commends the professionalism of the emergency services and those who cared for the injured.

"It is important that nothing remains uninvestigated, that every stone is turned."

The chancellor calls on the nation to stand together against hate.

Sky News
 
'We don't know yet whether this was a terror attack'

German officials say it is not clear yet whether yesterday's Christmas market attack was a terror attack.

They earlier said the motive for the attack remains unclear, but the suspect's dissatisfaction with Germany's treatment of Saudi refugees may have played a role.

Earlier today, Germany's interior minister Nancy Faeser told reporters the suspect was "Islamophobic".

Sky News
 
He is an atheist and Islamophobe
Bhaijaan said:
Europe has a Muslim problem and the sooner they act on it the better it would be for them if they want to save their homeland and safeguard the future of Europe. They let in the absolute worst of the immigrants from the Muslim world and are now wondering what went wrong.
Click to expand...
 
RIP
Dunno why Immigrants have such tough times in Europe integration hard to understand.
 

Saudi Arabia warned Germany multiple times about market attack suspect, sources say​


Saudi Arabia sent multiple warnings to German authorities about the man suspected of killing five people and injuring more than 200 others at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, two sources with knowledge of the communication told CNN.

One source told CNN the Saudis alerted Germany to the individual identified by German media as Taleb A. in four official notifications. The notifications, known as “Notes Verbal,” were sent to the German intelligence services, with one to the country’s foreign ministry. The source said all of the warnings were ignored.

The source said the complaints about the man revolved around his efforts to “entice” Saudis to leave the country and their religion. The source added that Saudi Arabia was aware of the man’s “fairly radical perspective.”

CNN previously reported that Saudi Arabia had warned German officials about the suspected attacker three times, citing a source with knowledge of the communications.

The first warning came in 2007 and was connected to concerns held by Saudi authorities that Taleb A. had expressed radical views of varying kinds.

Extradition request allegedly refused: Saudi Arabia considers him a fugitive and requested his extradition from Germany between 2007 and 2008, the source said, adding that German authorities refused, citing concerns for the man’s safety should he return.

Saudi authorities alleged that the man had harassed Saudis abroad who opposed his political views. They also noted that he had become a supporter of the far-right German party Alternative for Germany (AfD), and had developed radical anti-Islamic views, the source said.

CNN reached out to Germany’s foreign ministry for comment and was referred to the Ministry of Interior, which in turn referred it to the public prosecutor’s office in Magdeburg.

 
Photo emerges of suspect, who is named by US-based activist group as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen

A photograph has emerged of a man identified as the suspect in an attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, which killed at least five people and injured more than 200 on Friday.

The Reuters news agency released the image of the suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, sourcing it from a US-based activist group RAIR Foundation USA.

The suspect has not been formally identified by authorities, but German media has named him as Taleb A.

RAIR Foundation USA says it previously conducted an interview with al-Abdulmohsen on December 12.

The statement from RAIR Foundation USA, shared by Reuters, said al-Abdulmohsen had presented himself as someone assisting “ex-Muslim refugees fleeing persecution from Saudi Arabia.”

RAIR Foundation describes itself as a grassroots, activist organization, “leading a movement to reclaim our Republic from the network of individuals and organizations waging war on Americans, our Constitution, our borders and our Judeo-Christian values.”

Source: CNN
 
aboveandbeyond said:
Not sure integration was the issue. He's been brain washed by Right wing extremists. Which is sad.
Click to expand...
Integration is a massive issue for Europe.. and not just religion but ethnicities around the world have issue integrating.

If one googles European Integration there are so many articles on the same.
 
There are reports that the guy is a fake ex-Muslim and a Shia. He is wanted in Saudi Arabia and he is working for asylum seekers from Arab countries and making sleeper cells in Germany and Europe.

It seems the guy also refused interviews by other ex-Muslims to tell his story multiple times on YouTube and other social media platforms. Every time he faked some story to escape from telling his story.

If the guy was a right wing Tommy Robinson supporter, why would he plough his vehicle on a Christmas fair on innocent Christian’s? The story does not add up.
Overall, his background is very suspect. Truth will come out soon. German government and police might also know about this guy but decided to ignore him even after Saudi Arabia warned Germany about this guy and wanted him extradited.
 
JaDed said:
Integration is a massive issue for Europe.. and not just religion but ethnicities around the world have issue integrating.

If one googles European Integration there are so many articles on the same.
Click to expand...

In that case. Integration is a global issue. Be it Europe, Gulf, North America.
 
German Christmas market attack suspect remanded

A man accused of murdering four women and a nine-year-old boy by driving a car into them at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has been remanded in custody.

The 50-year-old was brought before a judge on Saturday evening following the incident on Friday when a black BMW car ploughed through the crowded market injuring more than 200 people.

Magdeburg Police said investigations are continuing and officers are appealing for witnesses to send in photos or video of the incident.

The suspect has been named in local media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi citizen who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had worked as a doctor.

On Sunday morning, Magdeburg police confirmed four women - aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 - were also killed in the incident.

"The judge ordered pre-trial detention for five counts of murder, multiple attempted murder and multiple counts of dangerous bodily harm," its statement said.

City officials said around 100 police, medics and firefighters, as well as 50 rescue service personnel, went to the scene shortly after 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Friday.

Witnesses described how they had to jump out of the car's path during the attack.

In an interview with German paper Bild, one woman called Nadine described being at the Christmas market with her boyfriend Marco when the car came speeding towards them.

"He was hit and pulled away from my side," the 32-year-old told the paper. "It was terrible."

Lars Frohmüller, a reporter for German public broadcaster MDR, told BBC Radio 4's World Tonight programme he saw "blood on the floor" as well as "many doctors trying to keep people warm and help them with their injuries".

A memorial service for victims of the attack was held at Magdeburg Cathedral on Saturday evening

The service was attended by families of the victims, emergency workers and federal government officials, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

During a visit to the market earlier on Saturday, Scholz described the attack as a "dreadful tragedy" as "so many people were injured and killed with such brutality" in a place that is supposed to be "joyful".

He told reporters that there were serious concerns for those who had been critically injured and that "all resources" will be allocated to investigating the suspect behind the attack.

Previously, Reiner Haseloff, the premier of Saxony-Anhalt state, said a preliminary investigation suggested the alleged attacker was acting alone.

Prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said on Saturday that the investigation was ongoing but suggested one potential motive for the attack "could have been disgruntlement with the way Saudi Arabian refugees are treated in Germany".

Al-Abdulmohsen is thought to have driven into the market through an entry point which was reserved for emergency vehicles, police said.

The suspect is a psychiatrist who lived in Bernburg, around 40km (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.

Originally from Saudi Arabia, al-Abdulmohsen arrived in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognised as a refugee.

He ran a website that aimed to help other former Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf homelands.

The suspected attacker has no known links to Islamist extremism. His social media and posts appear to suggest he had been critical of Islam.

A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC it sent four official notifications known as "Notes Verbal" to German authorities, warning them about what they said were "the very extreme views" held by al-Abdulmohsen.

The source, who asked not to be named, said these notifications were ignored.

However, another experienced counter-terrorism expert said the Saudis may be mounting a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.

BBC
 
In UAE they treat terrorists the way terrorists must be treated regardless of whether they’re their so called Muslim brothers. This is the reason why UAE is much safer for Sanatanis and Christians than they’re even in their native lands where Muslim terrorists are protected by woke leftist politics

https://twitter.com/x/status/1870203386647245165
 
The guy’s name is Talib Al-Abdulmohsen

Yet Islamic terror apologists claim he has no connection to Islam.
 
Bhaijaan said:
The guy’s name is Talib Al-Abdulmohsen

Yet Islamic terror apologists claim he has no connection to Islam.
Click to expand...
You need to read and research about him and his views.

Even if he is Muslim as per you, it makes no difference. Islam has no connection to such terror activities.
 
German police probe market attack security and warnings

German authorities are facing the public's grief and anger in Magdeburg after an attacker used an access lane for emergency vehicles to drive into a Christmas market, killing five people and injuring more than 200.

On a visit on Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, ministers and regional political leaders were heckled by members of the public, some seemingly outraged by what was criticised as a lapse in security.

German authorities have defended the layout and security at the market.

Authorities are also facing questions after reports that they were warned last year about the suspect, with police saying they had conducted an evaluation as to whether the suspect might be a potential threat a year ago.

The suspect has been ordered into pre-trial detention on counts of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm.

Usually at this time of the year, German city centres are full of shoppers and revellers drinking mulled wine, but this year the mood is very different.

The main Christmas market is cordoned off by tape and surrounded by police vans as armed officers patrol the shops and malls nearby.

There is sadness in the air in Magdeburg, as well as bafflement and anger, as people ask how could this have happened.

As Scholz and his colleagues walked out of the cordoned-off market during their visit on Saturday, they were met with booing and heckling and shouts of "hau ab", an extremely aggressive form of "get lost".

Some people seemed enraged by a perceived lapse in security. Others appeared simply annoyed and irritated in general at Germany's political leaders.

Security has ramped up at Christmas markets across Germany since a similar attack in Berlin in 2016 when a man drove a lorry into a market crowd, killing 12 people.

Open-plan Christmas markets now have some sort of barrier around them — typically large concrete blocks, which is the case in Magdeburg.

However, the gap in the barriers was large enough to allow emergency vehicles to pass through.

City official Ronni Krug told reporters at a press conference on Saturday that emergency responders needed an evacuation route in case of a "conventional" emergency, and all the relevant agencies approved the plan.

"A safety and security concept must, on the one hand, protect those visiting an event as much as possible, but also needs to ensure, at the same time, if something does happen, they are able to leave the site safely and rapidly", he said.

"Perhaps it is something that could not have been prevented", he added.

German media reported that before the attack, there had been warnings into a potential threat from the suspect.

The suspect, a doctor from Saudi Arabia named Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, arrived in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognised as a refugee.

An atheist, he ran a website that aimed to help other former Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf homelands. His social media was full of anti-Islamic sentiment and conspiracy theories.

At Saturday's press conference, Magdeburg police chief Tom-Oliver Langhans said police had conducted an evaluation as to whether the suspect might be a potential threat, "but that discussion was one year ago".

He added that investigations into the suspect's past were ongoing and declined to comment further.

One of those tip-offs is believed to have come from Saudi Arabia, the suspect's home country.

A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC it sent four official notifications known as "Notes Verbal" to German authorities, warning them about what they said were "the very extreme views" held by al-Abdulmohsen.

However, a counter-terrorism expert told the BBC the Saudis may have been mounting a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.

On Saturday, Langhans said he did not have information when asked about Saudi Arabia issuing warnings.

Later, the head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, told public broadcaster ZDF that his office had received a notice from Saudi Arabia in November 2023. He said local police took appropriate investigative measures, but the matter was unspecific.

He added that the suspect "had various contacts with authorities, insulted them and even made threats, but he was not known for violent acts".

Past investigations would need to be revisited, Münch said.

BBC
 
BouncerGuy said:
You need to read and research about him and his views.

Even if he is Muslim as per you, it makes no difference. Islam has no connection to such terror activities.
Click to expand...
aboveandbeyond said:
Ex muslim. He now is brain washed by RIght wing extremism as a Atheist, something you seem to be defending .
Click to expand...

Atheists come from all backgrounds.

How come it’s not a Hindu atheist.

In my life time 80% terrorists have come from Islam, rest from Christianity and a small % from Sanatani backgrounds.

Why do Muslims from nations that were converted always act as apologists for their terrorists?

This is where UAE is different. They’re original Muslims who do not defend terrorists especially muslim terrorists.

Pakistanis on the other hand consider Osama Bin Laden a hero and never helped us by punishing or extraditing the terrorist who helped carry out 26/11
 
aboveandbeyond said:
Last time I checked. It was HINDUTWA terrorizing their fellow Sikh countrymen in Canada
Click to expand...
No Hindutva in Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, African countries like Somalia,Sudan etc. etc.

India is safer for even Muslims than most of these countries.
 
aboveandbeyond said:
Last time I checked. It was HINDUTWA terrorizing their fellow Sikh countrymen in Canada
Click to expand...
Last I checked it was the Khalli ballis that attacked temple and assaulted worshippers there.

No gurudwara was ever assaulted or attacked by Hindutva subscribers anywhere in Canada or UK or India.👍
 
Champ_Pal said:
Last I checked it was the Khalli ballis that attacked temple and assaulted worshippers there.

No gurudwara was ever assaulted or attacked by Hindutva subscribers anywhere in Canada or UK or India.👍
Click to expand...

I could carry on But I'm not going to derail the thread
 
Last edited by a moderator:
TSA321 said:
Our resident Indian posters showing their usual intelligence by claiming a guy who made 1000+ anti Islam tweets on X is a Muslim terrorist. Some people just can’t be helped..
Click to expand...
Did he insult Prophet or just anti-Saudi posts?
 
TSA321 said:
Our resident Indian posters showing their usual intelligence by claiming a guy who made 1000+ anti Islam tweets on X is a Muslim terrorist. Some people just can’t be helped..
Click to expand...

It helps them sleep at night knowing they spend hours on end spewing hate towards Muslims behind their keyboards and helps them explain to their little minds why they glee when a saffron clad bald monk kills an innocent old man.

These veggie... extremists mindset is no different to this hate filled killer.
 
TSA321 said:
Our resident Indian posters showing their usual intelligence by claiming a guy who made 1000+ anti Islam tweets on X is a Muslim terrorist. Some people just can’t be helped..
Click to expand...
The attack had all the telltale signs of ISIS type attacks. Ramming cars into crowds of kafirs is what ISIS does. No wonder people quickly jumped to conclusions.
 
Champ_Pal said:
The attack had all the telltale signs of ISIS type attacks. Ramming cars into crowds of kafirs is what ISIS does. No wonder people quickly jumped to conclusions.
Click to expand...
This just shows biasness and stereotypes in the mind of people. How other terrorists attack before giving an invitation?
 
The Bald Eagle said:
This just shows biasness and stereotypes in the mind of people. How other terrorists attack before giving an invitation?
Click to expand...
If someone gets killed for eating beef in India, people automatically assume it is skme VHP or right wing Hindu job. The same is the case with this German Christmas Marketplace attack.
No atheist goes and drives a car into a Christian marketplace. Considering the attackers country of origin, people ca. easily assume the motive is the attack.

This is why we should always wait for the details before coming to conclusions.
 
TSA321 said:
Our resident Indian posters showing their usual intelligence by claiming a guy who made 1000+ anti Islam tweets on X is a Muslim terrorist. Some people just can’t be helped..
Click to expand...

He had a Muslim upbringing and was most likely raised in an environment where violence being a normal thing went into his subconscious like with many Muslim youth who over a period of time become violent men not fit to be part of the society as evident from thousands of terror related crimes attributed to them.

This is not me saying. It’s the documented facts. This is simple correlation.

I’m not singling out Muslims here, even Christians who are cousin brothers to Islam have this tendency as well.

99% of all terrorist incidents in the world could be attributed to someone from either of the two religions and before some dimwit here makes a comment about Hindutva, beating up some Khalistanis with a bamboo isn’t terrorism bruh. Neither is eliminating designated terrorists.
 
Magdeburg attack offers far right fertile ground despite suspect's backing for AfD

"I feel bad, I still do," said Eidwicht, as she stood in the Christmas market close to the spot where the car sped through on Friday, killing five people and injuring more than two hundred others.

"My granddaughter was here. I rang her because my daughter told me that something had happened here. And she didn't answer for two hours."

There is deep sadness here - and anger directed at the government and migrants. "It can't go on like this," said Eidwicht.

A Saudi refugee aged 50 has been arrested for the attack but the motive is unknown.

Officials say Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, was an "untypical" attacker. Germany's Christmas markets and festivals have come under attack before, mainly from extreme Islamists.

He has been described as critical of Islam and he also voiced support on social media for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, hailing the party for fighting the same enemy as him "to protect Germany".

The AfD has not commented on those posts. The party held a rally in Magdeburg later on Monday where co-leader Alice Weidel called for change "so we can finally live once again in security". The crowd responded with calls of "deport them" according to news agencies.

Her party is currently riding high in the opinion polls ahead of federal elections on 23 February, especially in states like Saxony-Anhalt in the former East Germany.

This attack has brought two big elections issues to the fore, security and immigration, and AfD figures have highlighted both since the attack.

Despite the suspect's many statements expressing hostility to Islam, the head of the AfD in Sachsen-Anhalt, Martin Reichardt, said in a statement "the attack in Magdeburg shows that Germany is being drawn into political and religious fanaticism that has its origins in another world".

In a post on X, Weidel said the government's discussion of new security laws following the attack "must not distract from the fact that Magdeburg would not have been possible without uncontrolled immigration. The state must protect its citizens through a restrictive migration policy and consistent deportations!"

A counter-demonstration also took place, with anti-racism groups accusing the AfD of exploiting the attack.

David Begrich from Miteinander e.V. said people in the city needed a chance to catch their breath.

"In the migrant communities, there is great concern about being made into a scapegoat," he said. "We don't want that. We want to organise solidarity across society, but at the same time we are also sensitive to the voices of those who are now reacting with fear and uncertainty."

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier made a plea for national unity, saying "a dark shadow hangs over this Christmas".

"Hatred and violence must not have the final word. Let's not allow ourselves to be driven apart. Let's stand together!" he said.

Germans are asking how the attack could have happened, when security was already heightened at Christmas markets and when authorities had clearly investigated the suspect several times in recent years.

The threat he posed was considered "too unspecific", according to one assessment, while one tip-off against him in September 2023 appears to have fallen through the cracks.

In another apparent security failing, the driver was also able to get through a gap that had been left open for emergency access when it should have been filled by a police van.

Stallholders at the Christmas market have now been allowed to come back, to throw away old food and remove their equipment and stocks.

None that I approached wanted to speak to the BBC. It's all too raw.

There has also been hostility towards journalists over the past few days, especially after some 2,000 people joined a protest by the far right in Magdeburg on Saturday night.

The Association of German Journalists said there had been aggression and threats against the press and appealed for greater police protection.

The BBC team joined mourners gathered in Cathedral Square for a live stream of the vigil for victims of the attack and many who spoke to them said it was important to show solidarity at a time of terrible distress.

But one woman struck a note of caution. There are "some Nazis here, who don't like journalists," she said. "Please be careful."

BBC
 
After a murder, the killer is always the first one who vehemently denies ever doing the act.

Scroll up and identify the culprit.
 
"They have no place in Germany": the leader of the AFD spoke to the residents of Magdeburg

Anyone who does not like Germany should leave Germany immediately, said Alice Weidel, co-chair of the Alternative for Germany party, candidate for chancellor, speaking to demonstrators in Magdeburg the day before.

"This is a crazy terrorist attack carried out by an Islamist full of hatred," Weidel said a few days after the tragedy that claimed the lives of five visitors to the Christmas market.

The candidate for the post of chancellor several times called on the citizens of Germany to unite, expressing sympathy for the family and friends of nine-year-old Andre, who died in the ill-fated evening. "As a mother of two boys" of similar age, it is difficult for her to "try to keep any distance" when talking about what happened, Weidel continued.

"No attempts to explain the reasons and motives of the crime can now be comforting. The one who despises everything we stand for, everything we love, is not one of us. Those who do not like Germany should leave Germany," she continued.

The slogan calling for deportation attracted wide support from the audience, who began to echo the candidate for the post of chancellor from the right-wing political force. About the special support that Weidel enjoys in In Magdeburg, the chanting of the politician's name before her appearance also testified. During the speech, Weidel's speech was repeatedly accompanied by shouts of "Alice for Germany" — a clear sign of the desire of the audience to finally tighten the migration policy of official Berlin with the help of the AfD candidate.

Earlier, the tabloid Bild reported that Weidel topped the ranking of candidates for the post of chancellor, ahead of opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU / CSU), Olaf Scholz, as well as the current vice-chancellor and candidate for the post of head of government from the Greens Robert Habek.

After the tragedy in Magdeburg, Alice Weidel also managed to rise to three positions in the list of the most popular politicians in Germany. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Feather, on the contrary, dropped several positions down in the ranking of key figures in terms of approval of their activities.

SOURCE: https://eadaily.com/en/news/2024/12...f-the-afd-spoke-to-the-residents-of-magdeburg
 
At least 20 injured after vehicle hits group of people in Munich

A person has driven a vehicle into a group of people in Munich, injuring several, German police said.

Police have said at least 20 people were injured but have yet to say if they were hit deliberately.

Munich-based Süddeutsche reported that one woman was dead and several hurt, some of them critically.

Police said on the social media platform X that the driver had been “secured” at the scene and no longer poses any danger.

Regional public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk reported that the people who were hurt were apparently participating in a strike.

SOURCE: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/13/vehicle-driven-into-group-of-people-in-munich
 
Two dead after car drives into crowd in Germany

Two people - an 83-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man - have been killed after a vehicle drove into a pedestrian area in the city of Mannheim, western Germany.

Five people were seriously injured and another five suffered minor injuries in the incident, investigators said.

Authorities arrested a lone suspect, a 40-year-old German man, who is not believed to be linked to extremism but shows "concrete indications of mental illness".

The suspect, who prosecutors said was a landscape gardener, remains in hospital in a stable condition after shooting himself with a gun loaded with blanks.

The incident occurred at around 12:15 local time (11:15 GMT), Mannheim police said.

CCTV footage showed a black hatchback car speeding along Planken shopping street in Mannheim, heading west.

Images from the scene showed police inspecting the car, a small black Ford, which had sustained heavy damage to its front.

The images show the car missing a hub cap on its front left wheel. In the CCTV footage, the front left hub cap also appears to be missing.

Thomas Strobl, interior minister of Baden-Württemberg, said the man used the vehicle "as a weapon".

"This act is one of several crimes in the recent past in which a car was misused as a weapon," Mr Strobl said, but added that there is no evidence to suggest the incident is connected to the Easter carnival taking place in the city.

Police are investigating two counts of murder and several of attempted murder, Mannheim chief public prosecutor Romeo Schluessler told reporters.

Mannheim's mayor described the incident as "abhorrent and "inhumane".

"Our thoughts are with the dead and injured, their families and friends," Mayor Christian Specht said.

Olaf Scholz, Germany's outgoing chancellor, thanked the emergency services and wished "strength" for eyewitnesses in Mannheim to "process what they have experienced".

"We mourn with the relatives of the victims of a senseless act of violence and fear for those injured," he said in a social media post.

The incident comes at a time of heightened security as outdoor carnivals linked to Easter celebrations are held across Germany.

There was a parade through the Mannheim city centre on Sunday, with major events scheduled for Tuesday.

A market has now been closed and a street carnival in the city centre will not take place. Carnival events in the nearby suburbs of Feudenheim, Neckarau and Sandhofen have also been cancelled.

Nine months ago, also in Mannheim and only a few blocks away from where Monday's attack is believed to have taken place, an Afghan man stabbed several people, killing a policeman.

Then, in August, another knife attack left eight people injured and three dead in Solingen. The Syrian man who was charged with the crime was suspected of links with the Islamic State terrorist group.

In December a man rammed a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, leaving six dead and 299 injured. A 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist was arrested.

In January, a 28-year-old Afghan asylum seeker attacked a group of small children in a park in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg, killing a two-year-old child and a passer-by who tried to help the boy.

And in February, a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker drove a car into a crowd, injuring more than two dozen people. A mother and child later died from their injuries.

BBC
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

The Bald Eagle
[VIDEOS] Police shoot a knifeman who injured several people in an attack at a far-right event in the German city of Mannheim
Replies
55
Views
2K
The Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle
MenInG
Paris attack near Eiffel Tower leaves one dead and two injured
Replies
12
Views
707
aboveandbeyond
A
Maher96
Germany Heidelberg University shooting: One dead in gun attack on German students
Replies
0
Views
515
Maher96
Maher96
MenInG
Liverpool explosion: Three arrested under Terrorism Act after car blast at hospital
Replies
70
Views
6K
MenInG
MenInG
Firebat
'Several dead' and others injured after car drives into pedestrians in southwest Germany
Replies
5
Views
578
sweep_shot
sweep_shot
Back
Top