31 votes

Car drives into people on Christmas market in Germany – death toll rises to four with more than 205 injured

21 comments

  1. [5]
    shu
    Link
    [...] (Translated with DeepL, source is the ARD, a german public-service broadcaster) Alledgedly he tweeted that he wanted to punish Germany because in his view the german public authorities were...

    The arrested suspect is said to be a 50-year-old man named Taleb A., who comes from Saudi Arabia and came to Germany in 2006. He is said to have last worked as a doctor specializing in psychotherapy in Saxony-Anhalt.

    A. is said not to have been known to the German authorities before the crime, reports ARD correspondent Kolja Schwartz. There is also said to have been no prior indication of the crime. In the meantime, he is said to have been interrogated and the alleged perpetrator's apartment in Bernburg is also said to have been searched. However, details of the interrogation and search have not yet been made public.

    [...]

    Is there any information about a motive?

    Not specifically. The arrested man is known as an activist critical of Islam who describes himself as an ex-Muslim. In social media, on Islamophobic websites and in interviews, he recently made accusations against the German authorities. Among other things, he accused them of not doing enough to combat Islamism and feared the Islamization of Germany.

    On the online service X, he expressed his sympathy for the AfD and dreamed of a joint project with the far-right party: an academy for ex-Muslims.

    After going public years ago with his support for Saudi women fleeing their home country, he later wrote on his website in English and Arabic: “My advice: don't ask for asylum in Germany.”

    (Translated with DeepL, source is the ARD, a german public-service broadcaster)

    Alledgedly he tweeted that he wanted to punish Germany because in his view the german public authorities were destroying the lifes of Saudia-Arabian ex-Muslim women. (e: this last info is from a screenshot of a tweet I saw shared online, I'm not sure if it was genuine, but it fits the official information about him.)

    14 votes
    1. [2]
      Pavouk106
      Link Parent
      I didn't do much reding or research and I don't speak German, so I can't really say. I also don't want to feed into allegations and rather wait for complete info. The attacker is known and some...

      I didn't do much reding or research and I don't speak German, so I can't really say.

      I also don't want to feed into allegations and rather wait for complete info. The attacker is known and some infomation he shared on he internet is also known though.

      I still consider him a psycho. You may be dissatisfied with something but the solution should NEVER be to kill innocents.

      9 votes
      1. Raspcoffee
        Link Parent
        Yeah, especially on sensitive issues it's easy to draw judgements immediately, but we'll probably only get a clear picture in about a week or so. :/ I'm so sorry for the victims, their family and...

        Yeah, especially on sensitive issues it's easy to draw judgements immediately, but we'll probably only get a clear picture in about a week or so. :/

        I'm so sorry for the victims, their family and their friends, no matter what though.

        3 votes
    2. [2]
      smoontjes
      Link Parent
      It's really odd that as an anti-Muslim, it's a Christmas market he chose to run his car through. There's not going to be a lot, if any, Muslims there. And it's some real cognitive dissonance to...

      It's really odd that as an anti-Muslim, it's a Christmas market he chose to run his car through. There's not going to be a lot, if any, Muslims there. And it's some real cognitive dissonance to blame ethnic Germans for the perceived Islamization of the country. It would at least make sense if he ran down a high ranking politician or something (although of course still indefensible)

      7 votes
      1. sparksbet
        Link Parent
        It's likely that right-wing types will still blame this on Muslims simply because he's Saudi anyway. Maybe that was part of his goal. idk his ideology seems pretty incoherent to me.

        It's likely that right-wing types will still blame this on Muslims simply because he's Saudi anyway. Maybe that was part of his goal. idk his ideology seems pretty incoherent to me.

        6 votes
  2. Pavouk106
    (edited )
    Link
    There was "terror attack" on Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany this evening. Some psycho has driven into the crowd of people with a car killing one person and wounding others, then drove off....

    There was "terror attack" on Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany this evening. Some psycho has driven into the crowd of people with a car killing one person and wounding others, then drove off. Police got him. There is also an unsettling video of this act from security cam (I presume), that I even didn't try/want to find (I have seen it on TV).

    German users might have more, and especially more precise, information.

    EDIT: I don't like to speculate, but as new information pours in, it seems there is more victims and up to 80 injured.

    EDIT2: Next day information is more precise with 4 dead and ~200 injured, ~40 of those severely.

    11 votes
  3. [6]
    fefellama
    Link
    Horrible stuff. Didn’t a similar thing happen a few years ago in another Christmas market in Germany?

    Horrible stuff. Didn’t a similar thing happen a few years ago in another Christmas market in Germany?

    15 votes
    1. [3]
      Pavouk106
      Link Parent
      It did. It's mentioned in the article - 8 years ago in Berlin a truck (and I believe in US this one is called semi) was driven into the crowd. I don't remember details on that one.

      It did. It's mentioned in the article - 8 years ago in Berlin a truck (and I believe in US this one is called semi) was driven into the crowd. I don't remember details on that one.

      17 votes
      1. [2]
        fefellama
        Link Parent
        Oh thanks. Wasn’t able to read the article yet. Just read the post and your comment and remembered that similar incident from a while back. Glad it’s not a common thing.

        Oh thanks. Wasn’t able to read the article yet. Just read the post and your comment and remembered that similar incident from a while back.

        Glad it’s not a common thing.

        7 votes
        1. Pavouk106
          Link Parent
          This kind of thing is not common, but various attacks in Germany are becoming kinda common in recent years - attacks with a knife injuring a few people at once and similar. Too bad and also too...

          This kind of thing is not common, but various attacks in Germany are becoming kinda common in recent years - attacks with a knife injuring a few people at once and similar. Too bad and also too sad to hear such things are happening.

          I'm Czech (neigbouring country), thus we get coverage of Germany in our main news and TVs as many Czechs work/shop or simply go there for such Christmas markets. In fact I've been to one this December and there were concrete barriers installed in surrounding streets to likely prevent this kind of situation. But if there is someone who want to kill others, they will find a way...

          11 votes
    2. OBLIVIATER
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I think something very similar happened in America too a few years back

      I think something very similar happened in America too a few years back

      1 vote
  4. [9]
    Pavouk106
    Link
    @Deimos or @cfabbro - Could you please change the thread title according to new information? There are 4 dead and 200 injured. I think it should be said in the title. There already exist wikipedia...

    @Deimos or @cfabbro - Could you please change the thread title according to new information? There are 4 dead and 200 injured. I think it should be said in the title.

    There already exist wikipedia page on this attack.

    4 votes
    1. [8]
      mycketforvirrad
      Link Parent
      Done!

      Done!

      6 votes
      1. [7]
        Pavouk106
        Link Parent
        I wanted to ask you too, but I can't, for the love of god, remember your nick! :-) Thank you.

        I wanted to ask you too, but I can't, for the love of god, remember your nick! :-) Thank you.

        3 votes
        1. [6]
          mycketforvirrad
          Link Parent
          No worries. You're not the only one to struggle. Bloody Swedish language, etc...

          No worries. You're not the only one to struggle. Bloody Swedish language, etc...

          4 votes
          1. Pavouk106
            (edited )
            Link Parent
            My nick is the same - Some Czech word nobody knows and random numbers... I'm getting a hang of yours, I always say to myself "ticket for virrad" and one day I will be able to make it out...

            My nick is the same - Some Czech word nobody knows and random numbers...

            I'm getting a hang of yours, I always say to myself "ticket for virrad" and one day I will be able to make it out completely and without mistake!

            4 votes
          2. [4]
            Interesting
            Link Parent
            If I ever have time, I want to dive into the Tildes source code and add a wrangler queue... An ID a user can @ and have it go into a list for you, cfabbro, or Deimos without someone needing to...

            If I ever have time, I want to dive into the Tildes source code and add a wrangler queue... An ID a user can @ and have it go into a list for you, cfabbro, or Deimos without someone needing to ping you directly

            3 votes
            1. [3]
              Pavouk106
              Link Parent
              Such thing would be great! My spaghetti code style wouldn't be of any use though, this is job for someone who really knows.

              Such thing would be great! My spaghetti code style wouldn't be of any use though, this is job for someone who really knows.

              2 votes
              1. [2]
                Interesting
                Link Parent
                I took a look at the Tildes src, and it seems possible that it might be fairly simple - - a very simple python script presently handles creating notifications for @ mentions, but I've not done...

                I took a look at the Tildes src, and it seems possible that it might be fairly simple - - a very simple python script presently handles creating notifications for @ mentions, but I've not done much in the way of database, or non-massive-framework web development before. That, and my code is not the cleanest either...

                3 votes
                1. Pavouk106
                  Link Parent
                  I can only encourage you, as my knowledge is clearly much lower than yours.

                  I can only encourage you, as my knowledge is clearly much lower than yours.