Germany mourns the death of at least five people after one Vehicle intentionally plowed into a crowded Christmas marketAuthorities are working to understand the suspect behind the attack.
The suspect – identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A. – had lived and worked as a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy in Germany for two decades, authorities said.
Taleb, originally from Saudi Arabia, came to Germany in 2006 and was recognized as a refugee in 2016, according to CBS News affiliates BBC reported. He worked at the Salus-Fachklinikum Bernburg, a specialist clinic in Bernburg, about 40 kilometers south of Magdeburg.
In one Instagram post On Saturday, the clinic announced that it was “shocked to learn that the alleged perpetrator worked as a specialist in our prison in Bernburg.” It added that Taleb had worked at the company since March 2020 but had not been on duty since October 2024 due to illness and vacation.
“We have been supporting the work of the investigative authorities in every possible way since the late hours of the morning,” and they are “stunned and shocked by the terrible attack.”
A Saudi source reported Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the attacker after he posted extremist views that threatened peace and security on his personal X account.
Talebs He also described himself as a former Muslim.
He criticized German authorities, saying they had not done enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”
He has also expressed support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Michael Probst / AP
Germany’s FAZ newspaper said it interviewed the suspect in 2019 and described him as an anti-Islam activist.
“People like me, who have an Islamic background but are no longer a believer, find neither understanding nor tolerance among Muslims here,” he was quoted as saying. “I am the most aggressive critic of Islam in history. If you don’t believe me, ask the Arabs.”
The prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had never come across a suspect with this profile.
Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you more. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance of Islamists – that really wasn’t on my radar.”
Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women escape their homeland. Lately he seemed to be focusing on his theory that German authorities are targeting Saudi asylum seekers.
Ebrahim Noorozi / AP
On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this point we can only say with certainty that the perpetrator was obviously Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else is subject to further investigation and we will have to wait and see.”
A Germany-based organization called Atheist Refugee Relief said the alleged attacker was not part of the group and claimed he had made “numerous accusations and claims” against it and former board members that it said were false.
“We strongly distance ourselves from him,” the group said in a statement on its website, adding that members of Atheist Refugee Relief filed a criminal complaint against him in 2019 for “the worst slander and verbal attacks.”
Taleb was arrested on site after he drove a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with Christmas shoppers in Magdeburg on Friday evening, killing at least five people and injuring around 200 others.
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