German Christmas market attack suspect remanded in custody

Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian doctor accused of killing four women and a nine-year-old boy by driving into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, has been remanded into custody.

His appearance before a judge on Saturday evening comes as details emerge about the attack and his possible motivations.

German privacy laws prevent authorities from releasing the suspect's full name, though they confirmed that his first name was Taleb. Two senior U.S. officials familiar with the matter confirmed al-Abdulmohsen's full name to NBC News.

The incident occurred on Friday when a black BMW plowed through the crowded market, leaving over 200 people injured, about 40 of them in a critical condition.

The victims are a 9-year-old boy and four women, aged 52, 45, 67 and 75.

Policemen walk past flowers laid for the victims of the Christmas market attack.Michael Probst / AP

Al-Abdulmohsen bypassed security bollards — set up to prevent such attacks — with the rental vehicle and entered the crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg through a gap meant for emergency vehicles, chief state prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said at a press conference Saturday. 

The pathway, typically restricted to ambulances and police, had been improperly secured, he added. 

Once inside, al-Abdulmohsen drove 1,200 feet at speed into the narrow, crowded alley, knocking scores of people to the ground. Forensic scientists are probing whether he had intentionally disabled the car’s emergency braking system to maximize impact.

Minutes after the attack, armed police confronted al-Abdulmohsen near the wrecked vehicle. In a dramatic arrest witnessed by shocked bystanders, officers repeatedly ordered al-Abdulmohsen to “lie on the ground.”

Magdeburg Police said investigations are ongoing and officers are appealing for witnesses to send in photos or video of the incident.

At the press conference Saturday evening, officials revealed that al-Abdulmohsen had been questioned, without revealing what he had said. 

Nopens said the motive is still being investigated but that “the background of the act” could be linked to “dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi Arabian refugees in Germany.”

Al-Abdulmohsen had voiced anger at German police and at Germany, allegedly previously saying that, “The nation that is actively criminally chasing Islam critics to ruin their lives is the German nation.” 

He had first first entered Germany in 2006, sought asylum there in 2016, citing threats from Saudi Arabia, and worked at a clinic as a “specialist in psychiatry.” The clinic, in the city of Bernberg, 25 miles south of the attack, confirmed his employment to NBC News, saying that he had not been on duty since October, due to "vacation and illness."

His online activity includes historic and recent inflammatory content on X, and he has been accused of erratic behavior by an NGO for refugees. He has aligned himself with far-right movements such as Germany’s anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

When asked whether the attacker could have been stopped, Nopens said “We didn’t have the perpetrator in our focus.”