German lawmakers are quizzing officials over possible security lapses ahead of the attack that killed five people at a Christmas market.
The German parliament’s interior committee is to question security and intelligence officials on Monday over possible failures leading up to a deadly attack on the city of Magdeburg’s Christmas market.
Five people were killed in the attack and some 200 others were injured when an individual drove a rented BMW sport utility vehicle through a crowd of revelers.
Police arrested 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist Taleb A. at the scene.
What do lawmakers want to know?
Up for discussion are apparent missed clues and security shortcomings before the December 20 attack in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and officials from the state of Saxony-Anhalt — of which Magdeburg is the capital — are among those to be questioned.
The suspect, A., had a history of brushes with the law and court appearances in Germany, and Saudi Arabia said it had repeatedly warned German officials about the suspect. A. arrived in Germany in 2006 and was granted refugee status 10 years later.
The Magdeburg attack was similar to previous jihadist ones in Berlin and in the French city of Nice in 2016, although A. had previously voiced strongly anti-Islam views and sympathies with the far right.
Call for accountability
Green Party domestic policy spokeswoman Irene Mihalic, a member of the parliament’s intelligence committee, said she expected a comprehensive review of the way that information had been used.
“We expect that the exact sequence of events before, during and after the attack, the flow of information and responsibilities will be presented in the most precise way,” Mihalic told the RND publishing group.
