Germany probing possible security lapses after Christmas market attack | U.S. & World [Video]

By Miranda Murray and Kirsti Knolle

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany searched on Monday for answers on possible security lapses after a man drove his car into a Christmas market, killing at least five people and casting a renewed spotlight on security and immigration ahead of a snap election.

The possible motive of the arrested suspect, a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric and a sympathy for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, remains unknown.

The man, identified only as Taleb A., had left video messages on his social media X account on the day of the attack.

In rambling commentary, he variously blamed Germany’s supposed liberalism for the death of Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, and accused police of stealing a USB stick from him and destroying a criminal complaint he had filed.

The Welt newspaper said he had undergone psychological treatment.

As a nation mourned, with citizens leaving flowers and lighting candles in Magdeburg where the incident took place …