Christmas market Magdeburg: Death trip could have been prevented?

Taleb A. (50) destroyed five lives with his death drive through the Christmas market in Magdeburg. He raced in a BMW X3 SUV right through the middle: through the crowds, through the pre-Christmas atmosphere.

But should the authorities have known about his hatred, about his plans, about how dangerous he was?

► One thing is clear: Taleb A., who has lived in Germany since 2006 and worked as a doctor in Bernburg (Saale), did not just become suspicious on Friday evening. Already He posted weeks earlier disturbing news at X: “I assure you: If Germany wants war, we will have it. If Germany wants to kill us, we will slaughter them, die or proudly go to prison,” he writes in Arabic.

The Saudi embassy reportedly warned several times

His public statements mostly revolve around hatred of Islam and revenge for what he claimed was Germany’s desire to Islamize Europe.

Taleb A. is originally from Saudi Arabia. It is said that the Saudi regime itself is supposed to have threatened the German authorities three times Magdeburg Christmas market-warned the attackers. The Saudi embassy in Berlin says that the first warning was issued on July 30, 2023. There were further warnings on November 28th of the same year, the last on September 2nd, 2024.

This information was confirmed to BILD by security circles.

► On May 10, 2023, Taleb A. even offered a bounty of 10,000 Saudi Riads (approx. 2,662 euros) on his Twitter account for the person who would lead him directly to the Saudi ambassador in Berlin. The German authorities apparently did not take this seriously. We assumed that the Saudis apparently just wanted to capture an opponent of their regime and silence them.

► But it wasn’t just the Saudis who warned about Taleb A. Apparently a woman also raised the alarm with the authorities a little over a year ago. How WELT reported, she is said to have sent an email to the police in Berlin on September 26, 2023. However, she did not send the message to the German capital, but to the small community of Berlin in the US state of New Jersey. With fatal consequences?

WELT reporters are in contact with the whistleblower. Her email, sent to the wrong address, translates from English: “Hello, it’s very urgent, there’s a guy who says he’s going to kill random German citizens, please do something and arrest him like that as quickly as possible.” And further: “His name is: Al ABDULMOHSEN, TALEB JAWAD H. Date of birth: 05 Nov 1974.”

The woman also claims that she then finally contacted the “real” Berlin police on the advice of the social media account of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). There is currently no evidence of this. According to BILD information, authorities say that receipt of such an email was not documented.

Taleb A. was convicted in 2013

Incredible: Taleb A. has apparently been known to the German authorities for a long time. As “Spiegel” reports, he was convicted by a German court in 2013. The reason for his conviction: “Disturbing the public peace by threatening to commit crimes.”

This means that the authorities apparently saw him as dangerous even back then and considered it credible that he could carry out his threats. The Rostock district court therefore sentenced him on September 4, 2013 to a fine of 90 daily rates of 10 euros. Apparently Taleb A. was living on Hartz IV at the time.

► Just one day before the attack, Taleb A. was supposed to appear in court again – but he skipped! Background: In February 2024, A. was at a police station in Berlin appeared to file a complaint. He called the fire department emergency number while he was still there and seemed confused.

Sea „SpiegelHe received a penalty order of 20 daily rates of 30 euros each for misusing the emergency call. However, he did not show up at the appeal hearing on Thursday 19th.

► At least indirectly, the investigators confirmed at a press conference on Saturday that Taleb A. was more than just on record. About a year ago, the police planned to address a so-called threat actor following a criminal complaint – but this apparently did not happen. According to the public prosecutor’s office, A. was “not the focus” of the investigators. However, senior public prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens emphasized that Taleb A. was not targeted as an Islamist threat.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) told BILD: “The investigations by the security authorities are in full swing. The Federal Criminal Police Office is supporting the investigations by the authorities in Saxony-Anhalt. The investigating authorities will clarify all the background information. We will also carefully examine what clues there were in the past and how they were followed up on.”