Magdeburg survivor relives attack 'again and again' - as man jailed for life for Christmas market attack

A man who killed six people when he drove into crowds at a Christmas market in Germany has been sentenced to life in prison.

A refugee psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia, named Taleb A in line with German privacy laws, carried out the attack in Magdeburg on 20 December 2024.

Five women and a nine-year-old boy died - and hundreds were injured - as he drove through the market in a rented BMW.

A survivor injured told Sky News he relives the incident "again and again".

The attacker described himself as an "ex-Muslim", showed support for the far right, and claimed on social media that Germany was allowing the "Islamisation of Europe".

Taleb A watched his trial from a bulletproof box that was built for his security in a special courtroom.

The killer, who had been in Germany since 2006, was described by authorities as an "untypical attacker".

The 51-year-old appeared remorseful at times during his trial and apologised to the family of the boy he killed.

However, he also used his time in court to rant about the "left-right wing" divide, migration and refugee organisations. A forensic expert labelled him a narcissist.

Prosecutors said Taleb A appeared to have acted following dissatisfaction with a legal dispute and the failure of various criminal complaints.

Authorities had been aware of previous threatening behaviour, but he had no record of violence at the time of the attack.

Survivor Phillip Peplau told Sky's Siobhan Robbins about the carnage he witnessed at the market.

He said: "It was four days before Christmas, there were so many children, so many families. It was a good time and in one second, so much blood, so much pain, so much screaming, so much crying."

The trainee paramedic said dozens of injured people were strewn around him.

He helped treat one woman whose hand had been severed and tried to resuscitate another, but she died in his arms.

Five women ​between the ages of 45 and 75 were killed. The youngest victim was nine-year-old Andre Gleissner.

The attack lasted one minute and four seconds, with the car reaching a maximum of 29mph (48km/h).

Coming a few months before national elections, it again stirred up tensions over immigration after previous attacks by asylum seekers.

These include the death of a police officer after a mass stabbing in Mannheim in May 2024 and a Syrian man stabbing three people to death in Solingen in August 2024.

In 2016, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker also used a lorry to murder 12 people at a Christmas market in Berlin.

(c) Sky News 2026: Magdeburg survivor relives attack 'again and again' - as man jailed for life for Christmas market a