Suspect in Christmas market attack showed signs of mental illness, German minister says

The German Government under fire for failing to prevent deadly car attack on a Christmas market, claimed Monday that the tragedy would have been difficult to prevent and said the suspect appeared to be mentally disturbed.

Home Secretary Nancy Faeser, along with security and intelligence chiefs, were questioned by a parliamentary committee about the attack that killed five people and injured more than 200 and whether there were missed clues and security lapses.

Faeser said no motive had yet been established for the Dec. 20 attack in the eastern city of Magdeburg, where a Saudi man was arrested, but that “there are striking signs of a pathological psyche.”

She added that lessons need to be learned about how to pursue potential attackers who do not fit conventional threat categories and who “are psychologically disturbed and … driven by confused conspiracy theories.”

The minister claimed that “these attackers do not fit any threat profile” – such as far-right extremist or Islamist – and warned that German security services will need “further indicators and action plans” to deal with them in the future.

Police arrested Saudi psychiatrist Taleb al-Abdulmohsen after the attack which used a vehicle as a weapon, a method previously used in jihadist attacks, including Berlin and in The French city of Nice in 2016.

In contrast, Abdulmohsen has in the past expressed strongly anti-Islamic views and sympathies towards the far right in social media posts, as well as anger at Germany for allowing in too many Muslim war refugees and other asylum seekers.

Faeser said there were “tens of thousands of tweets” Abdulmohsen had sent over the years that had yet to be fully examined.

“That explains why everything is not on the table yet … who knew about what clues and what was passed on when they need to be carefully clarified,” she said.

“Terrible Act”

Abdulmohsen, aged 50, is the only suspect in the attack in which a rented BMW The SUV plowed through the crowd of revelers at high speed, leaving a bloody trail of carnage.

According to media reports citing unnamed German security sources, he has previously been treated for mental illness and tested positive for drug use on the night of his arrest.

Abdulmohsen has been remanded in custody on five counts of murder and 205 counts of attempted murder, prosecutors said, but not so far on terrorism charges.

Chancellor Olaf Scholzwhich faces a general election in February, promised the T-online news portal on Friday that it was “examining very carefully whether there were any irregularities on the part of the authorities” and whether clues were missed in the run-up to the attack.

German media investigations into Abdulmohsen’s past and his social media posts found expressions of anger and frustration and threats of violence against German citizens and politicians.

Saudi Arabia he said he had Germany has repeatedly warned about and requested the extradition of Abdulmohsen, who came to Germany in 2006 and was granted refugee status 10 years later.

“Predictable to everyone”

Abdulmohsen also had a history of run-ins with the law and court appearances in Germany, media reported, including for threats of violence.

German police said they contacted Abdulmohsen in September 2023 and October 2024, and then repeatedly tried but failed to meet him again in December.

Ahead of February’s election, the Christmas market has reignited heated debates about it immigration and security after deadly knife attacks this year blamed on Islamist extremists.

After Monday’s hearing, lawmaker Konstantin Kuhle of the liberal Free Democrats said “federal and state authorities knew this perpetrator.”

But Kuhle said no authorities have connected all the dots and that “we don’t have a complete list of all the contacts with authorities today.”

Faeser said having a more complete picture of all the data would have been good, but probably “wouldn’t have prevented” the attack.

Far-right and anti-immigration lawmaker Gottfried Curio Alternative for Germany The party was the harshest in its criticism.

“Everything was predictable for everyone,” he charged. “We have hundreds of dangerous people in this country, we let them run.

“What we need are deportations, instead we get naturalizations. What is needed now is a change in security policy in this country.”

(AFP)