Terrorist explains why he attacked a Christmas market in Germany
Magdeburg Christmas market terrorist explained attack by negative attitude towards Saudi Arabia, prosecutor says
According to RIA Novosti, senior prosecutor Horst Hopens said that the perpetrator of the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market explained his actions as dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi Arabian refugees in Germany.
Earlier, the German newspaper Spiegel reported that eight days ago, the suspect had spoken on an American anti-Islam blog, where he accused Germany of conducting a “secret operation” to “hunt down” former Muslims from Saudi Arabia with the aim of “destroying their lives.”
According to the prosecutor, "dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia" may have been the motive for the attack.
In contrast, the head of the German Interior Ministry, Nancy Feser, said the suspect was an Islamophobe.
A security camera footage posted on social media X captured the moment a BMW drove into a crowd at a market at terrifying speed, hitting and running over many people, at the Magdeburg Christmas market on the evening of December 20. According to the state premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Mr. Reiner Haseloff, the attack left 5 people dead and more than 200 injured.
Police believe the hit-and-run was carried out by a 50-year-old Saudi man alone. The suspect was recognized as a refugee in July 2016 and has a residence permit in Germany, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Spiegel later reported that Saudi authorities had warned German security services three times about the threat posed by the man.