The identity of a young boy killed Friday when a militant maniac strode through a crowded German Christmas market has been identified. A mother has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her “little teddy bear” online.
Andre Gleissner, just 9 years old, was among five people killed that night in the city of Magdeburg when 50-year-old Saudi doctor Taleb al-Abdelmohsen allegedly tore apart a busy shopping street, authorities said. He is one of the terrorist attack.
“I want to fly my little teddy bear around the world again,” his heartbroken mother Desiree Gleissner said in a Facebook post, according to Sky News.
“Andre never did anything to anyone,” she said. “He has only been with us on earth for nine years… Why do you… why? I don’t understand.
“Now you are with your grandparents in heaven. They missed you as much as we miss you here right now.
“You will always live in our hearts…I promise.”
Al Abdul Mohsen – a far-right extremist who has been spouting anti-German and anti-Islamic rhetoric online for years – was arrested at gunpoint after the despicable attack and charged with five counts of murder. He was charged with several counts of attempted murder and serious bodily injury.
Al Abdulmohsen’s alleged attack began around 7pm when he drove his BMW between two safety bollards and sped down one of the busy market lanes.
Surveillance cameras showed the car speeding down the alley, leaving a trail of destruction, with injured victims falling to the ground and others fleeing in panic.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly warned Germany three times about the man who allegedly killed Gleissner and four adult women and injured about 200 others in a brutal attack. There is.
Franziska Helbich, who worked with Desiree Gleissner, wrote on the page that the boy was “very much looking forward to Christmas” but “will never be able to open his presents.”
“Andre left a deep hole in the hearts of his family, friends and everyone who knew him with his cheerful smile and zest for life,” Helbich said.
A GoFundMe set up for his shattered family raised more than $50,000 before it was shut down, according to Sky News.
Al-Abdelmohsen, who has lived in Germany for nearly 20 years, is not only an ardent critic of Islam, but also a supporter of the far-right Alternative for Germany party on social media.
He fled Saudi Arabia in 2006 and received formal refugee status 10 years later, the Guardian reported.
According to the Wall Street Journal, she previously worked as a doctor and psychotherapist in Europe, but runs anti-Muslim and women’s rights websites and social media channels in her home country. He was also a prominent anti-Muslim activist.
On his website, he warned potential refugees to avoid Germany because of the government’s tolerance of Islamic extremists.
He continued to post pro-Israel content even after the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack killed approximately 1,200 Israelis.
Saudi Arabia considered Al Abdulmohsen a fugitive and requested his extradition to Germany around 2007 or 2008.
But Germany claimed it was concerned about his safety if he was returned to his home country.
A memorial service for Friday’s victims was held at Magdeburg’s cathedral on Saturday night, with the bell tolling at 7:04 p.m., exactly 24 hours after the attack, Sky News reported.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the commemoration in a social media post as “a moving moment of compassion and solidarity for a city deeply affected.”
The attack came a day after the anniversary of the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack, which killed 12 people and injured 56 others in Germany’s deadliest terrorist attack.
