Unhappiness and anger in Magdeburg after the assault on the Christmas market

The Magdeburg Christmas market is a tragic spectacle. This could have been the busiest weekend of the season, however all the space has been cordoned off and all pits are closed.

The police are the one ones strolling across the closed mulled wine and gingerbread stalls.

On the sidewalk, crimson candles flicker, tributes paid to the victims.

Lukas, a truck driver, advised me he felt obliged to come back and pay his respects. “I wasn’t there when it occurred,” he advised me.

“However I work right here in Magdeburg. I am right here daily. I’ve handed right here 1000’s of instances.”

“This can be a tragedy for everybody right here in Magdeburg. The perpetrator of this crime have to be punished.”

“We will solely hope that the victims and their households will discover the power to deal with this case.”

There’s grief right here – however there’s additionally anger.

Many individuals right here see this assault as a horrible safety breach. It is a declare authorities reject, though they’ve admitted the attacker entered the market utilizing a route meant for emergency companies.

Michael, who additionally got here to pay tribute to the victims, declared that “there ought to have been higher safety”.

“We should always have been higher ready, but it surely was not executed correctly.”

Standing close to the safety cordon, I heard a bunch of residents loudly complaining about German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional politicians.

“They waste our tax cash, they solely take into consideration themselves. They do not care about us. We simply hear empty guarantees,” one man mentioned.

“They’re reversing what occurred right here and need to blame the opposition and use it for his or her election marketing campaign,” he mentioned.

On Saturday night, across the time the sq. in entrance of Magdeburg’s Gothic cathedral was full of mourners attending a memorial service, an indication befell close by.

The demonstrators held up a banner studying “Remigration now!” “” – a well-liked idea among the many far proper – and shouted “those that do not like Germany ought to go away Germany”.

It isn’t but clear what affect this assault may have on the upcoming German elections.

Germany has been hit by quite a few lethal Islamist assaults previously, however investigators mentioned proof collected thus far suggests a unique image on this case.

German Inside Minister Nancy Faeser mentioned the suspect gave the impression to be “Islamophobic.”

The suspect, Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, is from Saudi Arabia and his social media posts recommend he had criticized Islam.

He additionally expressed sympathy on social media for Germany’s far-right political social gathering, Different for Germany (AfD), by retweeting messages from the social gathering chief and a far-right activist.