German Christmas market attack suspect arrested in dramatic video — as witnesses describe horror that killed 5, injured hundreds

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Dramatic footage captured the second German police arrested an anti-Islam activist who allegedly plowed his automotive by a packed Christmas market Friday night time, killing 5 and injuring greater than 200 others.

One officer was seen aiming his gun on the suspect — recognized as a Saudi physician named Taleb al-Abdulmohsen – and shouting instructions because the unarmed driver crouched behind his wrecked BMW amid the carnage in Magdeburg.

The 2 exchanged phrases earlier than al-Abdulmohsen laid face down on the road, placing his palms behind his again, in response to the 50-second clip obtained by the AP.

A German police officer goals his gun on the driver suspected of driving his automotive right into a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg on Dec. 20, 2024. AP

The video was captured at an intersection from inside a automotive simply inches away from the broken car that al-Abdulmohsen is suspected of driving by the Christmas market blocks away.

One bystander helped the lone officer when he flagged down a pair of emergency automobiles racing down the road.

Officers jumped out of the van and hopped a railing dividing the highway lanes as a dozen different cops rushed the scene to detain the suspected attacker.

Al-Abdulmohsen – recognized from a report by The Guardian – had fled to Germany as a Saudi Arabian refugee in 2006 and gained official refugee standing in 2016.

The 50-year-old left his house nation as a consequence of its Islamic authorities and settled in Bernburg, roughly 28 miles southeast of Magdeburg.

A automotive plows by the crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany on Dec. 20, 2024.

One bystander helped the lone officer when he flagged down a pair of emergency automobiles racing down the road. AP

He has labored within the German metropolis as a physician and psychotherapist since receiving his everlasting standing, in response to the Wall Avenue Journal.

Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities in regards to the attacker after he posted extremist views on his private X account that threatened peace and safety, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing sources.

Al-Abdulmohsen’s assault started at round 7:04 p.m. when he drove the automotive between the hole of two security bollards and raced down one of many lanes of the packed market.

Surveillance footage of the assault captured the automotive rushing by the alley, forsaking a path of devastation as injured victims laid on the bottom with others panicking and operating off as others stayed behind and tended to the harm.

The suspect’s broken BMW sits behind police after the motive force was arrested by police blocks away from the assault website. REUTERS

Officers jumped out of the van and hopped a railing dividing the highway lanes as a dozen different cops rushed the scene to detain the suspected attacker. AP

An grownup and toddler have been among the many recognized killed, however officers couldn’t rule out the opportunity of extra deaths.

Forty-one individuals have been critically injured, 86 have been receiving hospital remedy for severe accidents and one other 78 sustained minor accidents.

Horrified witnesses tragically recalled the second al-Abdulmohsen allegedly crashed his car into the group of festive marketgoers.

“There was a useless man mendacity subsequent to me the entire time. I had a person in my arms who had an open fracture and his foot was hanging to the facet,” one lady recalled to German Newspaper Bild.

The consumer, who was not recognized, says she additionally watched a baby be revived.

Taleb al-Abdulmohsen’s alleged assault started at round 7:04 p.m. when he drove the automotive between the hole of two security bollards and raced down one of many lanes of the packed market. AP

Emergency crews stroll the market after the incident early on Dec. 21, 2024. FILIP SINGER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

One lady, recognized solely as 32-year-old Nadine, was arm in arm along with her boyfriend when the lethal assault occurred, sweeping her associate away from her.

“He was hit and pulled away from my facet. It was horrible,” Nadine advised the outlet, including her boyfriend suffered accidents to his legs and head.

One other witness mentioned the streets across the market have been flooded with first responders as medics, police and firefighters rushed into the scene to assist the victims.

“This was an actual chaotic scenario. We noticed blood on the ground, we noticed individuals sitting beside one another and having golden and silver foils round them. And we noticed many medical doctors making an attempt to maintain individuals heat and assist them with their accidents,” MDR reporter Lars Frohmüller advised the BBC.

A number of ambulances are stationed inside a cordoned-off space the place the assault occurred. dts Information Company Germany/Shutterstock

Ambulance crews transport tools and stretchers away from the market within the Magdeburg metropolis middle after the assault. Getty Pictures

“It’s a giant shock. It’s a giant shock for each individuals right here in Magdeburg and for each particular person in Saxony-Anhalt,” he added.

No motive or prices have been revealed Saturday morning.

“As issues stand, he's a lone perpetrator, in order that so far as we all know there is no such thing as a additional hazard to town,” Saxony-Anhalt’s governor, Reiner Haseloff, mentioned. “Each human life that has fallen sufferer to this assault is a horrible tragedy and one human life too many.”