German police investigate security and warnings of Magdeburg market attack

Grief and anger are boiling over in Magdeburg after an attacker used an emergency vehicle access lane to enter a Christmas market, killing five people and injuring more than 200.

During a visit on Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, ministers and regional political leaders were booed by members of the public, some apparently outraged by what was criticized as a security lapse.

German authorities have defended distribution and market security.

Authorities are also facing questions after reports that they were warned about the suspect last year, and police said they had conducted an assessment on whether the perpetrator could be a potential threat a year ago.

The suspect was remanded in custody and faces charges of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm.

Normally at this time of year, German city centers are packed with shoppers and revelers drinking mulled wine, but this year the atmosphere is very different.

The main Christmas market is cordoned off with tape and surrounded by police vans while armed officers patrol nearby shops and shopping centres.

In Magdeburg there is sadness, but also confusion and anger, as people wonder how this could have happened.

When Scholz and his colleagues emerged from the cordoned-off market during their Saturday visit, they were greeted with jeers, jeers and shouts of “hau ab,” an extremely aggressive form of “get lost.”

Some people seemed enraged by what they perceived as a lack of security. Others seemed simply annoyed and generally irritated with Germany’s political leaders.

Security has been increased at Christmas markets across Germany since a similar attack in Berlin in 2016, when a man drove a truck into a crowd, killing 12 people.

Open Christmas markets now have some kind of barrier around them, usually large concrete blocks, as is the case in Magdeburg.

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

Municipal official Ronni Krug told reporters at a news conference on Saturday that emergency services needed an evacuation route in the event of a “conventional” emergency, and all relevant agencies approved the plan.

“A safety and security concept must, on the one hand, protect those who visit an event as much as possible, but must also ensure, at the same time, that if something happens, they can leave the venue safely and quickly.” , said.

“Maybe it’s something that couldn’t have been avoided,” he added.

German media reported that before the attack, there were warnings about a possible threat from the suspect.

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

An atheist, he ran a website whose goal was to help other ex-Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf home countries. His social media was filled with anti-Islamic sentiments and conspiracy theories.

At Saturday’s press conference, Magdeburg Police Chief Tom-Oliver Langhans said police had conducted an assessment to determine whether the perpetrator could be a potential threat, “but that discussion was a year ago.”

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

One of those tips is believed to have come from Saudi Arabia, the suspect’s country of origin.

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

However, a counterterrorism expert told the BBC that the Saudis may have been mounting a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudis seek asylum in Germany.

On Saturday, Langhans said he had no information when asked if Saudi Arabia was issuing warnings.

Later, the head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, told public broadcaster ZDF that his office had received a notification from Saudi Arabia in November 2023. He said local police had taken the appropriate investigative measures, but that the matter was not specific.

He added that the suspect “had various contacts with the authorities, insulted them and even threatened them, but was not known for violent acts.”

According to Münch, it would be necessary to review past research.