MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) – Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspects behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.
Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, authorities said he has lived in Germany for two decades. He was arrested at the scene after a black BMW plowed into a Christmas market full of holiday shoppers on Friday night, killing at least five people and injuring around 200 others.
German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.
Trusted news and daily excitement, right in your inbox
See for yourself – The Yodel is the source for daily news, entertainment and feel good stories.
Taleb's X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who have left the faith. He also said that he was a Muslim before.
He criticized the German authorities, saying they had not done enough to fight “European Islamism”.
He has also shown support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed to focus on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.
Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this 'business' you don't think anything surprises you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim living in East Germany loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance of Islamists – not for him. Really on my radar.”
