MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany was still in shock Saturday and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.
Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy, authorities say he has lived in Germany for 20 years. He was arrested on the spot after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market full of holidaymakers on Friday evening, killing at least five people and injuring around 200 others.
Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had not yet encountered a suspect in a mass act of violence with that profile.
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Taleb’s He also described himself as a former Muslim.
He criticized German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”
He has also expressed support for the far-right and anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed to focus on his theory that German authorities have targeted Saudi asylum seekers.
Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing can surprise you anymore. 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.”
