5 dead, 235 injured
Death ride in Magdeburg: Now the authorities are under pressure
27.12.2024Reading time: 3 min.
How is the death journey in Magdeburg dealt with? The investigation focuses on the security concept and the police. Merz, however, is calling for a stricter migration course.
After the death trip in Magdeburg, the debate about possible mistakes by authorities and the police is gaining momentum. While in the Saxony-Anhalt state capital the organizer’s security concept for protecting the Christmas market and the actions of the police are being put to the test, in Berlin the focus is also on the consequences of migration policy.
Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz called for tougher action against perpetrators with a migrant background. “We are simply not consistent enough in dealing with the enemies of our democracy. We tolerate too many people in Germany who do not want to integrate,” writes the CDU leader in his email newsletter “MerzMail”.
Merz demanded that expulsions should also be possible if no criminal offenses have been identified. The perpetrator in Magdeburg appears to be a particularly aggressive opponent of Islam, wrote Merz. There are obviously conflicts with this perpetrator on German soil that cannot be tolerated. The guiding principle must be: “We don’t want such (potential) criminals in our country!”
Merz recalled the man’s history, who had been convicted of threats. “Why don’t we get rid of such people before they cause great harm? It may be that the current legal situation does not allow this. But then these legal regulations have to be changed!”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) made it clear in an interview with t-online that he expected the authorities’ actions before the attack to be examined. “Obviously there have been repeated references to the man over the years. My expectation is clear: Now we have to examine very carefully whether there were any failures by the authorities in Saxony-Anhalt or at the federal level. There can be no false reticence. ” Read the entire interview with Scholz here.
In Magdeburg, the security concept and thus also the securing of escape and rescue routes are being examined. “It is being examined whether these measures have been implemented by the organizer and if not, why not. The same applies to the police operational concept,” said a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry.
The perpetrator, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, who is in custody, drove a car through the Christmas market on Friday last week. Five people were killed and 235 injured. The man from Saudi Arabia drove between a pedestrian traffic light and a concrete block barrier.
The investigation now involves a lot of details. “The distance between the pedestrian traffic light and the concrete block barrier was around six meters on both sides of the pedestrian traffic light,” said the Interior Ministry. “It must now be examined whether the security concept of the organizer of the Christmas market included such large gaps in the concrete block barriers at pedestrian crossings.”
It is also about why escape and rescue routes were not secured with steel chains – contrary to the organizer’s security concept. “Such steel chains should connect concrete block barriers over a longer distance. They should enable flexible opening for passage by rescue workers and fire brigades,” said the Interior Ministry.
Police vehicle not at planned location
In addition to the investigation into the attack, possible errors in police work are also being looked for. According to the Interior Ministry, the operational concept included presence patrols as well as vehicles with intervention forces at four locations around the Christmas market.
“The locations were not intended to permanently block sidewalks or entrances to the Christmas market and only open them to rescue workers and the fire department,” it said. By positioning it near some of the entrances to the Christmas market, it should be possible to set up mobile barriers if necessary.