Police are checking security and warnings

German authorities faced public grief and anger in Magdeburg after a gunman used an ambulance drive to drive into a Christmas market, killing five people and injuring more than 200.

During Saturday’s visit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, ministers and regional political leaders were criticized by the public, some seemingly outraged by what they criticized as a security breach.

German authorities protected the site and security at the market.

Authorities are also facing questions after reports they were warned about last year the suspectand police said they conducted an assessment a year ago to see if the suspect could be a potential threat.

The suspect has a measure of restraint in the form of detention was applied on charges of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.

Usually at this time of year, the centers of German cities are full of shoppers and revelers drinking mulled wine, but this year the mood is completely different.

The main Christmas market is cordoned off and surrounded by police vans, while armed officers patrol nearby shops and malls.

There is sadness in the air in Magdeburg, as well as confusion and anger as people ask how this could have happened.

As Scholz and his colleagues exited the cordoned-off market during their visit on Saturday, they were met with whistles, screams and shouts of “hau ab,” an extremely aggressive form of “get lost.”

Some people seemed to be enraged by the perceived security breach. Others just looked irritated and annoyed with Germany’s political leaders.

Security at Christmas markets across Germany has been stepped up after a similar attack in Berlin in 2016, when a man drove a truck into a crowd at a market, killing 12 people.

Open-plan Christmas markets now have some sort of barrier around them—usually large concrete blocks like Magdeburg.

However, the gap in the barriers was large enough for emergency vehicles to pass through.

City official Ronnie Krug told reporters at a press conference Saturday that emergency responders need an evacuation route in the event of a “normal” emergency, and all relevant agencies have approved the plan.

“The concept of safety and security must, on the one hand, protect those attending the event as much as possible, but at the same time must ensure that if something happens, they can leave the place safely and quickly,” he said.

“Maybe this is something that could not be prevented,” he added.

German media reports that the suspect warned of a potential threat before the attack.

The suspect, a doctor from Saudi Arabia, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, arrived in Germany in 2006 and was recognized as a refugee in 2016.

An atheist, he ran a website that aimed to help other ex-Muslims avoid persecution at home in the Persian Gulf. His social media was full of anti-Islam sentiments and conspiracy theories.

At a press conference on Saturday, Magdeburg police chief Tom-Oliver Langhans said police had assessed whether the suspect could be a potential threat, “but that discussion was a year ago.”

He added that the investigation into the suspect’s past is ongoing and declined to comment further.

One of those messages is believed to have come from Saudi Arabia, the suspect’s home country.

A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC it had sent four official messages, known as “Notes Verbales”, to German authorities warning them of what they said were al-Abdulmohsen’s “very extreme views”.

However, a counter-terrorism expert told the BBC that the Saudis may have orchestrated a disinformation campaign to discredit the man who was trying to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.

On Saturday, Langhans said he had no information when asked about the Saudi warnings.

Holger Münch, head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), later told public broadcaster ZDF that his agency had received a message from Saudi Arabia in November 2023. He said that the local police have taken appropriate investigative measures, but the case is inconclusive.

He added that the suspect “had various contacts with superiors, insulted them and even threatened them, but he is not known for violent actions.”

Munch said past investigations would have to be reviewed.

The suspect’s social media accounts are under scrutiny while investigators build a case against him.

He has been a prolific poster boy for anti-Islamic sentiment and conspiracy theories on X, and has made threats in the past.

Germany’s ambassador to the UK said X owner Elon Musk must answer questions about why his platform did not take action against al-Abdulmohsen.

“We saw that the person who carried out this horrific attack was extremely active in threatening X. The question is, ‘is X really acting against these things?'” Ambassador Miguel Berger told BBC Radio 4 Broadcasting House on Sunday.

“We have a Digital Security Act in the European Union that requires social networks to act (…). This has not happened,” he said.

Musk’s own account called for Scholz’s resignation and retweeted several accounts widely criticizing the German government for failing to respond to the suspect’s social media threats.

The BBC has contacted X for a response.

Musk’s criticism of the German authorities goes beyond the attack on Magdeburg. The morning before the attack, he posted a post in support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party.

“Only the AfD can save Germany,” he said.

Party leader Alice Weidel thanked Musk for his “note” and said that “The alternative for Germany is really the only alternative for our country; our very last option,” in a message that Musk retweeted.

Mr Berger also commented on Musk’s endorsement of the AfD, who told the BBC: “I think that Elon Musk – before giving unsolicited advice to German citizens – he should look at the responsibility of his own platform.”