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, Tom-Oliver Langhans, director of the Magdeburg police, said at a press conference Saturday. 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. 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.” Officials said Friday that al-Abdulmohsen acted alone, which former New York State Homeland Security Advisor Michael Balboni characterized as the “worst-case scenario for security officials.”
“This came out of nowhere,” he told MSNBC’s Alex Witt. “You can monitor social media, but for the most part you’re not going to know the timing on this or what they’re going to do.” 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 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.”
