Suspect in Magdeburg attack had history of criticizing Germany
The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) reported that in late summer 2023, they received a tip via social media regarding a person involved in the attack in Magdeburg, according to the dpa agency. According to BAMF, as with many other tips, actions were undertaken with great seriousness to thoroughly investigate the information provided.
The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Muench, said on ZDF that the BKA also received a warning about a man from Saudi Arabia in November 2023. "Proceedings were also initiated here. The police in Saxony-Anhalt also took appropriate investigative measures," he noted.
Muench emphasized that the man "was not known for aggressive behaviour." However, as he announced, this will have to be verified again to ensure that the authorities did not miss anything. "We are dealing with a completely atypical pattern here and need to calmly analyze it now," announced the head of the BKA.
The suspect, Taleb Abdul Jawad, comes from Saudi Arabia and arrived in Germany in 2006. On social media and in interviews, he recently made accusations against German authorities, some of which were somewhat vague. He accused them, among other things, of not doing enough to combat Islamism.
After publicly expressing his support for Saudi women fleeing their country, he later wrote on his website in English and Arabic: "My advice: don't ask for asylum in Germany," wrote the dpa agency.
On Friday evening, a car driven by Jawad at high speed ploughed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany. The attack resulted in the death of five people, while 90 were injured. The dpa agency, citing police sources, reported early Sunday morning that the 50-year-old is to be taken into custody. The motive for the perpetrator's actions could be dissatisfaction with how refugees from Saudi Arabia are treated in Germany, declared Magdeburg's chief prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens on Saturday.
