Christmas market security was in order, perpetrator used escape route

“What has happened now is something we could not count on and perhaps could not have prevented.” Public Safety Councilor Ronni Krug came to this conclusion in a press conference held today about the circumstances surrounding the fatal attack on the Christmas market in his city.

According to authorities, arrested suspect Taleb Al Abdulmohsen drove a rented car through an escape route and access for emergency services. At the press conference, where the German police and the Public Prosecution Service were also present, the question of whether security around the Christmas market was in order led to some annoyance for Krug.

“I think our security was good because it was coordinated,” Krug said. “Think back to the Love Parade in Duisburg. Then there was no good escape route.” During that tragedy in 2010, almost hundreds of visitors were crushed; 21 people died. “At events you must provide safety in the sense of protection, but also that people can leave in the event of an emergency,” the councilor said.

Krug reported that the security plan was revised in November in light of the knife attack in Solingen. He said that it had been agreed with the police that the access route used by the suspect was not secured with posts or barriers. There was a police van there.

Tom-Oliver Langhans, the head of the Magdeburg police, emphasized that everything happened very quickly yesterday. The police received the first emergency call at 7:02 p.m., with the caller initially assuming it was an accident. “Three minutes after the first emergency call, the suspect was arrested,” Langhans said.

In addition, he said that Al Abdulmohsen first drove onto the site at a moderately high speed. Only when he reached the Alter Markt, the location of the cherry market, did he significantly increase his speed, Langhans said.

The investigation into the perpetrator’s motive is still in full swing. The only thing the police can say about this is that his “dissatisfaction with German dealings with Saudi refugees could be an option.”

The police could not say anything about his messages on social medium X, where the Saudi regularly criticized Islam and the massive admission of refugees into Germany. The police did determine that the perpetrator acted alone. There are no indications of a second perpetrator.

The number of deaths is currently five. There are also 200 injured, of whom 40 are very seriously injured. The child killed in the Christmas market attack was nine years old.

The chief public prosecutor of Magdeburg announced at the press conference that Al Abdulmohsen is currently charged with five murders and 200 attempted murders.