By Miranda Murray and Kirsti Knolle
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany was on Monday looking for answers to security lapses after a man drove his car into a Christmas market, killing at least five people and putting a new focus on security and immigration ahead of snap elections.
The possible motive of the arrested suspect, a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia with a history of anti-Islamism and sympathies for Germany's far-right party (AfD), is unknown.
The man, identified only as Taleb A., had left video messages on his X social media account on the day of the attack.
In a commentary, he unequivocally blamed supposedly liberal Germany for the death of Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher, and accused the police of stealing a USB stick from him and destroying a criminal complaint he had filed.
The Welt newspaper said he had undergone psychiatric treatment.
Even as the nation mourned, citizens left flowers and lit candles in Magdeburg where the incident happened on Friday, questions were raised about whether it could have been done if the authorities had acted with caution.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has called for stricter internal security laws, including new measures to strengthen police forces and the introduction of biometric surveillance.
“It is clear that we must do everything to protect the German people from acts of such violence. To do this, our security authorities need all the necessary forces and many workers,” Faeser told the news newspaper Spiegel.
The deputy head of the security committee in the Bundestag (parliament) has announced that he will call a special session asking why previous warnings about the danger posed by Taleb A. were not carried out. Taleb A. lives in Germany since 2006.
The attack comes two months before snap elections in February in which the anti-immigration AfD polled second and is strongest in eastern Germany, where Magdeburg is located.
“I'll put it this way: everyone is dealing with this situation in their own way, some are sad, some are angry,” said Andreas Bohs, who was walking past the scene of the Magdeburg attack where mourners laid out flowers, candles, teddies and other items. toys.
“Everyone has the right to express their opinion and this should not be used for any political purposes here. But I know that every political party will do that.”
AfD leaders plan to hold an event in Magdeburg on Monday evening.
“The discussion about new security laws must not distract from the fact that #Magdeburg would not have happened without the influx of unruly people,” AfD leader Alice Weidel wrote on social media. “Government must protect citizens with a restrictive immigration and deportation policy!”
On Monday evening, a campaign organized under the slogan “Don't give hate a chance” is calling for a chain of people in Magdeburg.
The local hospital said it is still treating 72 injured people, fifteen of whom are in critical condition.
ADVANCED WARNINGS
Germany's main opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union, which polls show will form the next government, has called for the strengthening of intelligence services.
Holger Muench, president of the criminal police office (BKA), told public broadcaster ZDF at the weekend that Germany was reviewing security measures for Christmas markets and addressing any weaknesses.
Muench said Germany had received a warning from Saudi Arabia since 2023 about the suspect, German authorities are investigating but found nothing unclear.
“This man also published a large number of posts on the Internet. He also had various contacts with the authorities, made insults and threats. But he was not known for violent acts,” said Meench.
Taha al-Hajji, a Saudi lawyer in exile and legal director of the Berlin-based European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), said many of the Saudi rebels had a good relationship with the suspect.
“He was making trouble with everyone…
“He felt that he was the only one who was right and people were wrong, he felt he was the head of everything, he was important. He always had problems with everyone.”