Police publish route
Different than expected: New details about the Magdeburg trip
Updated 12/27/2024 – 1:17 p.mReading time: 2 min.
After the fatal trip in Magdeburg, the safety concept became the focus of criticism. New details about the route raise questions.
Almost a week after the fatal trip to the Christmas market in Magdeburg, the police have announced new details about the crime. According to a statement from the Magdeburg police station, the perpetrator circumvented security measures by entering the Old Market in his vehicle along a sidewalk. There he accelerated about 250 meters through an alley with market stalls.
By publishing the exact route, the police want to counter “false representations that are still in circulation.” The car did not drive over the tram tracks into the pedestrian area, as previously assumed, but between a pedestrian traffic light and a concrete block barrier.
Criminal complaints have now been filed against the city of Magdeburg and the local police, which address possible errors in the security concept, as reported by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, ZDF and the Evangelical Press Service. “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 complaints accuse the police of not having adequately secured all entrances to the Christmas market. According to media reports, a police vehicle was not at the intended location. The Interior Ministry of Saxony-Anhalt has confirmed this and pointed out that the reasons for this are still being investigated, it is said. According to the current status of the investigation, a vehicle was in the parking bay for taxis on Ernst-Reuter-Allee and therefore not at the intended location. “Why this was the case is the subject of further investigation,” said a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry.
The investigation now involves a lot of details. “The distance between the pedestrian traffic light and the concrete block barrier was around 6 meters on both sides of the pedestrian traffic light,” said the Interior Ministry. “It now needs to be examined whether the security concept of the Christmas market organizer 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.
There is also criticism that the institutions involved, including the police and Christmas market operators, are only contributing hesitantly or incompletely to dealing with the allegations.
50-year-old Taleb al-Abdulmohsen killed five people and injured more than 200 while driving. The police arrested the perpetrator after a few minutes. The man, who attracted attention on social networks through his criticism of Islam and right-wing populist statements, has been in custody ever since.