German Christmas market suspect was quizzed in 2013 after suggesting he would commit an atrocity - one of many threats dismissed by police before five killed this week
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The suspect in the German Christmas market killings was quizzed in 2013 after suggesting he would commit an atrocity – one of many threats that were dismissed by police. Dr Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, 50, had been investigated after he threatened to attack a medical association over a dispute about his qualifications.
![[The damaged car at the scene after it was driven into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/22/23/93411939-14219809-image-a-57_1734910380511.jpg)
The Saudi ex-Muslim made the threat in a phone call in April 2013, two days after the Islamist Boston Marathon bombings which killed three people. He apparently alluded to carrying out a similar mass-casualty attack. His apartment was raided but he escaped with a fine after investigators found no evidence of 'preparations' for an assault.
![[Hard-right demonstrators take part in a protest after a car drove into the crowd at the market]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/22/23/93396569-14219809-Hard_right_demonstrators_take_part_in_a_protest_after_a_car_drov-a-58_1734910513767.jpg)
It is the latest in a string of embarrassing revelations that authorities had had warnings about the suspect's online threats and erratic behaviour. The German government last night vowed to investigate whether the attack which left five dead and more than 200 injured could have been prevented.
![[Firefighters patrol the scene of the crash after a car rammed into a massive crowd of shoppers the Christmas market in Magdeburg]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/22/23/93383083-14219809-Firefighters_patrol_the_scene_of_the_crash_on_Friday_after_a_car-a-33_1734908584228.jpg)
The Saudi-born psychiatrist, who has a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric, made several online threats to kill Germans and had a well-documented history of disputes with state authorities. In 2014 he came to their attention again over his demands for financial support in Stralsund, where he lived and trained from 2011 to 2016.
