German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was booed, booed and called a “murderer” by a crowd gathered at the scene of a horrific Christmas market attack that left five dead and hundreds injured on Friday evening.
A black BMW rammed into a huge crowd of shoppers at a Magdeburg Christmas market around 7pm yesterday, while officials say four adults and a nine-year-old child were killed. Another 205 people were injured during the massacre.
Police arrested a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, identified as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, who remains under investigation on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm.
But today there was visible hostility towards the government as questions remain over whether authorities ‘ignored’ the warnings ahead of the fatal attack. including that police had previously considered putting al-Abdulmohsen on a ‘dangerous persons’ list.
On Saturday morning, Chancellor Scholz arrived to pay his respects at the market, where he described last night’s event as a “terrible, insane act.”
He said: ‘What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people there with such cruelty.
‘We have now heard that there are more than 200 injured. So far five have died, an incredible number, almost forty are so seriously injured that we should be very concerned about them.
‘What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people with such cruelty.’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was booed, booed and called a “murderer” on Friday by a crowd gathered at the scene of a horrific attack on Magdeburg’s Christmas market.
There was visible hostility among the crowds as questions remain over whether authorities “ignored” warnings ahead of the fatal attack.
Scholz was accompanied by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Justice Minister Volker Wissing, who were greeted with boos and whistles as they walked past the crowd
The chancellor laid a white rose at a church before walking to his car, but he quickened his pace after noticing he was being mobbed by the disapproving crowd.
Scholz was accompanied by Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser and Minister of Justice Volker Wissing.
Footage from earlier today shows politicians walking through the crowd amid audible cheering and whistling, as angry bystanders shout: “Get out of here!”
Others were heard calling the group “criminals” and “murderers” as they hurriedly left the scene with a police escort.
Amid the heated emotions, several opposition politicians have spoken out, claiming that police could have stopped Friday’s attack if they had taken the intelligence received more seriously.
Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right AfD, said that “astonishing failures by the authorities made the horrors of Magdeburg possible.”
In a statement on
Weidel added that the AfD had requested a special session of the Bundestag to discuss the issue further.
Chancellor Scholz arrived to pay his respects at the market, where he described last night’s event as a ‘terrible, insane act’
Scholz (second from right) is accompanied by German Justice Minister Volker Wissing (second from left) and German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (right)
The chancellor and his ministers laid a white rose at a church before leaving the scene
Scholz and his ministers were escorted by police amid hostile cheers from bystanders
Questions emerged today over whether authorities ‘ignored’ advance warnings about suspect Taleb al-Abdulmohsen (photo)
Pictured: Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, the alleged car-ramming perpetrator who killed five people and injured more than 200 in an attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, East Germany, on December 20, 2024
Meanwhile, Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the small left-wing BSW party, asked “why so many tips and warnings were ignored in advance.” The Telegraph reports.
It is understood that police had previously spoken to Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, that he was on a list of ‘dangerous persons’ and that Saudi Arabia had warned Germany about him due to his fierce criticism of his home country.
Despite this, police did not place him on a list of political extremists because he did not strike a pose ‘concrete danger.’
Several German media have reported that the suspect, who police believe worked alone, was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.
He has lived in Germany since 2006 after arriving in the country as a refugee from Saudi Arabia, and practices medicine in Bernburg, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Magdeburg, officials said.
In 2013, he was convicted by a German court of “disturbing public peace by threatening to commit crimes,” according to Der Spiegel.
Three years later he applied for asylum in Germany and within four months his application was approved.
The country is in mourning after Friday’s attack, with locals placing candles and tributes at the site where the car plowed into a crowd.
The Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, was seen deserted and empty on Saturday, just hours after the horrific attack
Firefighters patrolled the scene of an accident on Friday after a car plowed into a huge crowd of shoppers at a Christmas market in Magdeburg at around 7pm.
Debris and closed stalls are seen at the scene of a car ram attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg
Mourners lit candles and placed flowers outside a church near the market
Stuffed animals, candles and floral tributes lie near the spot where a car plowed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg
People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial near the site of a car ram attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg
A crowd gathered at an anti-immigration demonstration organized by right-wing groups
Some protest participants held up a visible banner with the word ‘Remigration’
A motive for the attack remains unclear at this stage, although officials said the suspect’s “dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia in Germany” may have been a factor.
The suspect described himself as a former Muslim and shared dozens of tweets and retweets every day focusing on anti-Islam themes, criticizing the religion and congratulating Muslims who had left the faith.
He also accused German authorities of not doing enough to combat what he said was the “Islamism of Europe.”
The violence has shocked Germany and the city, causing the mayor to burst into tears and marring a festive event that is part of a centuries-old German tradition.
It prompted several other German cities to cancel their weekend Christmas markets as a precaution and in solidarity with the loss of Magdeburg.
The incident has also sparked division in the grieving city.
As a memorial service took place in Magdeburg’s cathedral on Saturday evening, a crowd gathered at an anti-immigrant demonstration organized by right-wing groups.
Some participants held up a visible banner with the word ‘Remigration’.