Who is the Saudi doctor behind the German Christmas market attack?

A festive evening turned into a scene of horror on Friday, as a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, became the target of a shocking vehicular attack.

Amid the bustling and twinkling Christmas market, a black BMW SUV tore through protective barriers, careening 400 metres through the market. The devastating incident claimed two lives, including that of a child, and left nearly 70 people injured, 15 of whom remain in critical condition.

The driver—a Saudi Arabian doctor who has lived in Germany for years—was swiftly apprehended and is now under investigation, regional premier Reiner Haseloff told reporters, calling the attack a “catastrophe” for the city and the country.

Here’s what we know about the suspect so far.

A harsh critic of Islam, moved to Germany in 2000s

The suspect in the Magdeburg Christmas market attack has been identified as Taleb A, a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian national and a medical professional specialising in psychiatry and psychotherapy, according to The Guardian.

Taleb has lived in Germany since 2006 and resides in Saxony-Anhalt, the state where Magdeburg is located, regional premier Reiner Haseloff confirmed.

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Born in the Saudi city of Hofuf in 1974, Taleb moved to Germany to escape restrictions in Saudi Arabia. He reportedly found it impossible to express his atheist thoughts and views openly in his homeland, where Islam is the sole religion recognised under law, reports BBC.

After settling in Germany, Taleb launched a website, wearesaudi.net, to help ex-Muslims flee Saudi and other Gulf states and create an information resource for others to do the same.

According to reports, he is wanted by Saudi Arabia on charges of terrorism and smuggling women from the Middle East to European countries. However, Germany has refused to extradite him to Saudi Arabia and granted him asylum in 2016 despite the charges against him.

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As per his social media profile, Taleb is a harsh critic of Islam and supports far-right German political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is known to have an anti-immigration stance.

‘Lone attacker’

Speaking about the attack, which authorities are investigating as a possible act of terrorism, Premier Reiner Haseloff said they are investigating the Saudi Arabian national in the case.

“We have arrested the perpetrator, a man from Saudi Arabia, a doctor who has been in Germany since 2006. From what we currently know, he was a lone attacker, so we don’t think there is any further danger,” Haseloff stated.

Eyewitnesses described a terrifying scene, recounting how the suspect drove his vehicle at high speed through the market toward the town hall for 400 metres.

Videos circulating on social media, though yet to be officially verified, show what appears to be a dark car speeding into the crowd.

Vehicle Ramming Incident at Christmas Market in Magdeburg

Reports of at least 11 Killed and over 60 Injured.

A driver ran over a group of people this evening (Friday) at a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg, Germany.

According to the German newspaper Bild, several… pic.twitter.com/XNfSV1rtJY

— Israel News Pulse (@israelnewspulse) December 20, 2024

One witness told the German news outlet Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, “He drove deliberately into the section of the Christmas market decked out with scenes from fairytales.”

German broadcast journalist Lars Frohmüller, who arrived at the scene shortly after the incident, described the chaotic aftermath. “Everywhere there were ambulances, police, and many firefighters. This was a real chaotic situation. We saw blood on the floor, people sitting beside each other with golden and silver foils around them, and many doctors trying to keep people warm and help with their injuries,” she told the BBC.

According to a security official cited in The Guardian, the suspect had rented the car shortly before the attack and had no known Islamist ties.

However, Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project at the International Center for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), urged caution in ruling out a wider network.

“Obviously, everything is possible to do by yourself—you can rent a car by yourself, you can buy gas canisters by yourself, you can build an explosive device by yourself,” he explained. “But all these things in combination give the possibility of a wider support network, who were not in the car but helped the man prepare, and that is really important to determine,” Schindler told German media outlet DW.

“This is a terrible event, particularly now in the days before Christmas,” Haseloff said.

Previous attacks in Germany

Germany has experienced deadly attacks on its Christmas markets before, raising concerns about safety at these popular holiday venues.

In 2016, a tragic incident unfolded when an Islamist extremist drove a lorry into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people. The attack remains one of the darkest moments in Germany’s recent history.

Just last month, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stressed the importance of “greater vigilance” at Christmas markets. However, she noted that there were no “concrete” indications of danger at the time.

The discussion around public safety was further heightened by a knife attack in Solingen in August , which claimed three lives. In response, Faeser advocated for stricter weapons laws in public areas.

The Solingen attack led to the arrest of a 26-year-old Syrian man on suspicion of being a member of the Islamic State group. This incident reignited debates over Germany’s asylum and migration policies.

With input from agencies