Citizens pay tribute for deaths outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP)

German authorities are investigating a 50-year-old Saudi man, Taleb A., a doctor with a history of anti-Islam rhetoric, as the suspect in a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg that left five people dead and over 200 injured.

The attack, which occurred on Friday evening, targeted crowds celebrating the pre-Christmas season, reigniting debates over security and migration in Germany as the far right gains traction in the election campaign.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the violence, stating, "What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people there with such brutality." He added, "We have now learned that over 200 people have been injured, almost 40 so seriously injured that we must be very worried about them."

Suspect's background and extremist views

Taleb A. has lived in Germany for nearly two decades and worked as a psychiatrist at a specialist rehabilitation clinic in Bernburg. He had been on sick and holiday leave since October.

A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the suspect after he posted extremist views on his X account that threatened peace and security.

A German security source said Saudi authorities had sent several tips in 2023 and 2024 and that these had been passed on to the relevant security authorities.

A risk assessment conducted last year by the German state and federal criminal investigators concluded that the man posed "no specific danger," the Welt newspaper reported, citing security sources.

On his verified X account, Taleb A. expressed anti-Islamic and far-right views, including support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and criticism of Germany's treatment of Saudi refugees.

In 2019, he gave media interviews, including with the BBC and FAZ, where he criticized Islam.

Investigation and witness accounts

The motive for the car-ramming attack remains unclear, and German authorities have not officially named the suspect.

Police arrested Taleb at the scene and conducted an overnight search of his home. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser acknowledged the suspect's Islamophobia but refrained from commenting on the motive.

A Saudi source revealed that Germany had received multiple warnings about Taleb A. since his arrival in 2006.

Reuters also cited a spokesperson from a rehabilitation clinic in Bernburg, specializing in treating criminals with addictions, who confirmed that the suspect had worked as a psychiatrist there. However, he had been on sick leave and holiday since October.

Witnesses at the market described a scene of horror, with Andrea Reis recounting how she and her daughter narrowly avoided being hit by the vehicle. "If we'd stayed where we were we'd have been in the car's path," she said, visibly shaken.