Suspect admits to driving car in Magdeburg market attack

The man accused of killing six people by ramming a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg last December said on Monday that he was the one behind the wheel during the incident.

Shortly before his trial on 6 counts of murder and 338 counts of attempted murder broke for lunch, Taleb A. asked to be able to address the court to answer the charges.

What did the suspect say?

Taleb A. said he would like to speak for “hours, maybe days” about his crime.

Earlier this year, he shocked several victims by sending them letters from prison apologising for his actions.

Judge Dirk Sternberg said he would have an appropriate amount of time to address the court after it reconvened at 2 p.m. local time.

“I am the one that drove the car,” the suspect said on the first day of his high-security trial, one of the largest in Germany’s post-war history.

What are the court conditions?

A temporary court building has been set up to accommodate the hundreds of people involved in the trial, including witnesses, plaintiffs, and members of the press. It will be dismantled after the trial is over.

The suspect will sit in a glass cage during the proceedings for his own protection.

The car-ramming attack, which killed 5 women and one child, shocked Germany and prompted dozens of similar markets across the country to beef up security measures, including car barriers.

A further 338 people were injured in the attack on the crowded Christmas market.

What is the background of the suspect?

Originally from Saudi Arabia, 51-year-old Taleb A. had been in Germany since 2006 and was a doctor in the town of Bernburg.

He was detained shortly after the attack and has been in custody since.

Some 180 victims and relatives will be co-plaintiffs in the case.

The Magdeburg Regional Court has scheduled around 50 trial days up to March 12, 2026.

Taleb A. was vocally critical of Islam and what he saw as Germany’s lax immigration policies.

He also espoused a number of conspiracy theories. Prosecutors say he voiced his anger online, and was then driven to the attack out of a mix of “dissatisfaction and frustration.”

He aimed “to kill as many people as possible,” they said. He faces life in prison.