The man accused of killing five people and injuring more than 200 others by ramming a car into a crowded German Christmas market had a history of making anti-Islam statements, which had grown increasingly dark and threatening towards Germany in recent months.
The suspect, Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, was arrested at the scene of the deadly attack in Magdenburg on Friday. German authorities said they believe he acted alone.
A Saudi Arabian citizen, the 50-year-old psychiatrist came to Germany in 2006. Once settled in the country, he began sharing advice online with other people about how to escape repressive regimes in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, setting up the platform wearesaudis.net.
While initially appreciative of Germany, in recent years he appeared to grow increasingly disgruntled with the country and its immigration policies. In 2015, Germany welcomed more than a million refugees from the Middle East but has since moved to tighten border controls.
German authorities said on Saturday that they were examining Al Abdulmohsen’s “dissatisfaction” with Germany’s treatment of refugees, although they said more time was needed to establish a motive.
On social media, Al Abdulmohsen posted openly about renouncing his Islamic faith, expressed sympathy for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and accused Germany of promoting the Islamization of the country.
Earlier this year, he made dark threats against Germany and the German people online – something the German authorities were apparently alerted to. On his account on X, formerly Twitter, he posted in May to his nearly 50,000 followers: “German terrorism will be brought to justice. It’s very likely that I will die this year in order to bring justice.”
He made a similar statement in August, when he posted: “I assure you that if Germany wants a war, we will fight it. If Germany wants to kill us, we will slaughter them, die, or go to prison with pride.”
As part of efforts to promote his activism work, Al Abdulmohsen had been in touch with many media organizations, including CNN. He told news outlets he had regular contact with vulnerable women and would often be their only point of contact outside Saudi Arabia. He said he helped them plan travel to visa-free countries, and, on several occasions, he facilitated contact between these women and the media
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