German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faced heckling, booing, and insults of ‘murderer’ from a crowd gathered at the site of a tragic Christmas market attack that resulted in five deaths and injuries to hundreds on Friday night.
The incident involved a black BMW crashing into a large group of shoppers at a Christmas market in Magdeburg around 7 pm the previous day. Authorities reported four adults and a nine-year-old child among the fatalities, with an additional 205 individuals sustaining injuries during the attack.
Law enforcement detained a 50-year-old Saudi doctor named Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, who remains under investigation on charges of murder, attempted murder, and causing bodily harm.
But today there was visible hostility towards the Government as questions remain over whether the authorities ‘ignored’ warnings in advance of the fatal attack, including that police had considered putting al-Abdulmohsen on a ‘dangerous persons’ list previously.
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 brutality.
‘We have now learned that there are over 200 who were injured. Five have died so far, an incredible number, almost 40 are so seriously injured that we have to be very worried about them.
‘What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people with such brutality.’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was heckled, booed and called a ‘murderer’ by a crowd gathered at the scene of a horrifying Christmas market attack in Magdeburg on Friday
There was visible hostility amongst the crowd as questions remain over whether the authorities ‘ignored’ warnings in advance of the fatal attack
Scholz was accompanied by interior minister Nancy Faeser and Justice Minister Volker Wissing, who were greeted by boos and whistles as they walked past the crowd
The Chancellor laid a white rose at a church before heading towards his car, but he quickened his step after finding himself being heckled by the disapproving crowd.
Scholz was accompanied by interior minister Nancy Faeser and Justice Minister Volker Wissing.
Footage from earlier today features the politicians walking through the crowd amid audible boos and whistles, as angry bystanders yelled ‘Get out of here!’
Others were heard calling the group ‘criminals’ and ‘murderers’ as they hastily left the scene under police escort.
Amid the inflamed emotions, several opposition politicians have spoken out to claim the police could have stopped Friday’s attack if they had taken intelligence received more seriously.
Alice Weidel, leader of the hard-Right AfD, said that ‘staggering failures by the authorities made the horror of Magdeburg possible.’
On a statement posted to X she said: ‘While politicians deploy the security apparatus against the opposition and government critics, there is a lack of resources to defend against real threats.’
Weidel added that the AfD had requested a special session of the Bundestag to debate the matter 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 seen accompanied by German Federal Minister of Justice Volker Wissing (second from left) and German Minister of the Environment 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 booing from bystanders
Questions emerged today over whether authorities ‘ignored’ warnings in advance about suspect Taleb al-Abdulmohsen (pictured)
Pictured: Taleb al-Abdulmohsen the alleged car-ramming perpetrator that killed 5 and injured more than 200 in an attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern 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 ‘dangerous persons’ list and that Saudi Arabia had warned Germany about him because of his fierce criticism of his home country.
Despite this, police did not put him on a list of political extremists because he did not pose a ‘concrete danger.’
Several German media outlets have reported that the suspect, who police believe was working 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 has been practicing medicine in Bernburg, about 25 miles south of Magdeburg, officials said.
In 2013 he was sentenced by a German court for ‘disturbing the public peace by threatening to commit crimes’, according to Der Spiegel.
Three years later, he applied for asylum in Germany and his application was approved within four months.
The country has been in mourning following Friday’s attack, with locals placing candles and tributes at the site where the car drove into a crowd.
The Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, seen abandoned and empty on Saturday, just hours after the horrific attack
Firefighters patrol the scene of the crash on Friday after a car rammed into a massive crowd of shoppers at a Christmas market in Magdeburg at around 7pm
Debris and closed stalls are seen on the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg
Mourners lit candles and placed flowers outside a church near the market
Plush toys, candles and floral tributes lie near the site where a car drove into a crowd at a Magdeburg Christmas market
People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial near the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg
A crowd gathered at an anti-immigration demonstration organised 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.
Describing himself as a former Muslim, the suspect shared dozens of tweets and retweets daily focusing on anti-Islam themes, criticizing the religion and congratulating Muslims who left the faith.
He also accused German authorities of failing to do enough to combat what he said was the ‘Islamism of Europe.’
The violence has shocked Germany and the city, bringing its mayor to the verge of tears and marring a festive event that’s part of a centuries-old German tradition.
It prompted several other German towns to cancel their weekend Christmas markets as a precaution and out of solidarity with Magdeburg’s loss.
The incident has also proven divisive for the city in mourning.
As a memorial service took place in Magdeburg cathedral on Saturday night, a crowd gathered at an anti-immigration demonstration organised by right-wing groups.
Some participants held up a visible banner with the word, ‘Remigration’.
