A man, described in the German national press only as a 21-year-old Central Asian, was arrested in Magdeburg on Friday to prevent him from carrying out attacks against large crowds.
The timing and location are significant. Just a year ago, a Saudi psychiatrist and refugee who was known to German police drove a car into a crowded Magdeburg Christmas market during the city’s festivities, killing six people. It is for this reason that this year’s market quietly opened under tight security.
