The suspect believed to be behind the automotive attack on a Christmas market in Germany made multiple threats to commit terrorist attacks in the years before the massacre.
Taleb al Abdulmohsen, a Saudi Arabian national and doctor granted asylum in Germany in 2016, is accused of driving an SUV through an outdoor Christmas marketplace Friday evening.
Information continues to come to light showing that the attack, which killed five people and injured over 200 more, was the culmination of over a decade of the suspect making violent and threatening remarks.
Federal Criminal Police Office Holger Münch acknowledged Saturday that the suspect was reported as dangerous by Saudi Arabian authorities in November 2023. Münch said German law enforcement took “appropriate investigative measures.”
Social media users have also pointed out concerning statements Abdulmohsen made via X.
“German terrorism will be brought to justice. It’s very likely that I will die this year in order to bring justice,” the suspect wrote in May, according to translations from CNN.
Another translated post from August says, “I assure you that if Germany wants a war, we will fight it. If Germany wants to kill us, we will slaughter them, die, or go to prison with pride.”
The suspect’s history of concerning and often explicitly threatening statements extends back to 2013, according to a report from the Telegraph.
Abdulmohsen allegedly threatened to carry out a terrorist attack in 2013 after getting into a disagreement with a medical association over the paperwork necessary to begin practicing psychiatry in Germany.
“Did you see what happened in Boston?” Abdulmohsen allegedly told the association in a phone call, referencing the then-recent Boston bombing attack. “Something similar will happen here too.”
An investigation was carried out but found no evidence of a plan to commit an attack. He was allegedly fined €900 over the incident, according to the outlet.
This incident allegedly took place more than two years before he was granted asylum.
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Authorities in Mecklenburg, the German state in which Abdulmohsen lived, also allegedly tipped off federal authorities about him making threats of a concerning nature.
If any investigation was launched, it did not result in him being added to any watch lists.