There are no indications that the attack in the German city of Magdeburg was motivated by Islamist ideology, President of the German Federal Criminal Police Holger Muench said.
"In this case, we have no indications of an attack motivated by Islamism, quite the opposite … This is actually about completely different motives, about an atypical perpetrator, if you will, who does not fit into such a system," Muench said.
It was reported that Saudi Arabian authorities had warned Germany three times regarding the danger posed by the individual suspected of ramming visitors at a Christmas market in Magdeburg. The suspect was reportedly identified as Taleb A.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia contacted Germany through Interpol to request the arrest of Taleb A. on suspicion of terrorist activities. However, German authorities rejected the request as potentially politically motivated. As a result, the man wanted in Saudi Arabia was granted asylum in Germany, German media reported.
Meanwhile, the Welt newspaper reported that the suspect had threatened Germany with a "heavy price" on the X social network for persecuting the "nonbelieving" refugees from Saudi Arabia.
On Friday evening, a car had rammed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg. The attack had left five people dead and more than 200 injured.
Police suspect that the driver was a 50-year-old Saudi man acting alone. The Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported that the suspect had been recognized as a refugee in July 2016 and had a residence permit in Germany.
