Police probe security and warnings

German authorities are facing questions about their security and what they knew about the suspect who killed five people and injured more than 200 by using the emergency vehicle access lane to enter a Christmas market in Magdeburg.

During a visit on Saturday, politicians were heckled by members of the public, some outraged by what was criticized as a security breach.

German officials defended the order and security of the market.

Authorities are also raising questions following reports they were warned about last year. suspiciousPolice said they evaluated a year ago whether the suspect would pose a threat.

There is a suspect ordered detained before trial for murder, attempted murder and causing dangerous bodily harm.

Usually at this time of year German city centers are packed with shoppers and mulled wine-sipping revelers, but this year the mood is very different.

The main Christmas market is taped off and surrounded by police vehicles, while armed police patrol nearby shops and shopping malls.

There is sadness in the air in Magdeburg, as well as confusion and anger; people ask how this could happen.

As politicians emerged from the cordoned-off market during their visit on Saturday, they were greeted with boos, heckles and shouts of “whoa ab”, a highly aggressive form of “getting lost”.

Some people appeared angry over a perceived lack of security. Others appeared generally angry and annoyed with Germany’s political leaders.

Security at Christmas markets in Germany has increased since a similar attack in Berlin in 2016, when a man drove a truck into a market crowd, killing 12 people.

Open-plan Christmas markets now have a barrier of sorts around them; usually large concrete blocks like in Magdeburg.

However, the gap in the barriers was large enough to allow emergency vehicles to pass.

Emergency responders need an evacuation route in a “traditional” emergency, and all relevant agencies have approved the plan, city official Ronni Krug told reporters at a news conference Saturday.

“The concept of safety and security should, on the one hand, protect those visiting an event as much as possible, but also ensure that, should something happen, they can leave the venue safely and quickly.” he said.

“Maybe it’s something that can’t be prevented,” he added.

German media reported that warnings were made before the attack about a potential threat from the suspect.

The suspect, a Saudi Arabian doctor named Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, came to Germany in 2006 and was recognized as a refugee in 2016.

An atheist, he ran a website aimed at helping other former Muslims escape persecution in their Gulf countries. His social media was filled with anti-Islamic sentiments and conspiracy theories.

At Saturday’s press conference, Magdeburg police chief Tom-Oliver Langhans said police had made an assessment of whether the suspect was a potential threat, but “this discussion happened a year ago.”

He added that investigations into the suspect’s background were ongoing and declined to comment further.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told German newspaper Bild that investigators would examine “in detail” what authorities had in the past about the suspect and how he was investigated.

The German Office for Immigration and Refugees announced in a post on social media that it had filed a complaint against the suspect and “took it seriously”, but since the office was not an investigative institution, it referred the complainant to other authorities.

A tip authorities received is believed to have come from the suspect’s hometown, Saudi Arabia.

A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC that four official communications, known as “Verbal Notes”, were sent to German officials warning them that al-Abdulmohsen had “very extreme views”.

But a counter-terrorism expert told the BBC that the Saudis may be launching a disinformation campaign to discredit someone trying to help young Saudi women seeking asylum in Germany.

On Saturday, Langhans said he had no information when asked whether Saudi Arabia had issued warnings.

Later, Holger Münch, head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), told public broadcaster ZDF that his office had received a notification from Saudi Arabia in November 2023. Münch said local police had taken appropriate investigative measures but was not specific.

He added that the suspect “had various contacts with the authorities, insulting them and even making threats, but he is not known for violent actions.”

Past research needs to be reconsidered, Münch said.

The suspect’s social media accounts are also under intense scrutiny as investigators develop the case against him.

He was a prolific poster child for anti-Islam sentiment and conspiracy theories about X, and had made threats in the past.

Germany’s ambassador to the UK said X owner Elon Musk had questions to answer about why his platform had not taken action against al-Abdulmohsen.

Ambassador Miguel Berger told BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House program on Sunday: “We saw that the man who carried out this terrible attack was extremely active and threatened X. The question is: ‘Is .

“There is a Digital Security Act in the European Union that requires social media to take action (…). This has not happened,” he said.

Musk’s own account called for Scholz to resign and retweeted several accounts that broadly criticized the German government for failing to act on threats the suspect made on social media.

The BBC has contacted X for a response.

Musk’s criticism of German officials goes beyond the Magdeburg attack. The morning before the attack, he made a post supporting the far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

“Only the AfD can save Germany,” he said.

The party’s leader, Alice Weidel, thanked Musk for his “memo” and said in a post retweeted by Musk, “The Germany Alternative is truly the only alternative for our country; it is our last option.”

Asked by the BBC to comment on Musk telling Germans how to vote, Berger said: “I think Elon Musk should look at the responsibility of his own platform – before giving unsolicited advice to German citizens.”