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A German court has sentenced a man to life in prison for a 2024 attack on a Magdeburg Christmas market that killed six people.
The court passed the maximum sentence on the accused, Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, who came from Saudi Arabia. The 51-year-old man was found guilty of murder.
On December 20, 2024, he drove a rented BMW at up to 48 km/h (30 mph) at the Christmas market in the center of Magdeburg, prosecutors said.
The attack took place at 19:02 when the market was at its busiest with gingerbread and gifted wine stalls filled with Christmas party revelers. It lasted only one minute and four seconds.
A nine-year-old man and five women aged between 45 and 75 were killed. About 300 others were injured.
Taleb Al Abdul Mohsen was arrested immediately after the incident.
Prosecutors said he planned the attack ahead of time and carried it out alone. He said he was not pursuing any serious ideological goals, but was primarily motivated by personal motives.
“The defendant’s only threat was and still is himself,” said chief prosecutor Matthias Böttcher.
A psychiatrist said the man had a narcissistic personality disorder and a high need for attention.
Taleb Al Abdulmohsen told the court that he was motivated to carry out the attack by a conflict with German authorities. He said he was angry that the rights of Saudi women were being ignored.
He said very little about the attack itself.
