German Christmas market attack suspect Taleb al-Abdulmohsen was arrested in a dramatic video

Dramatic footage captured the moment German police arrested an anti-Islam activist who allegedly plowed his car through a crowded Christmas market on Friday evening, killing five people and injuring more than 200 others.

An officer was seen pointing his gun at the suspect – who was a Saudi doctor named Taleb al-Abdulmohsen – and shouting orders as the unarmed driver cowered behind his wrecked BMW amid the carnage in Magdeburg.

The two exchanged words before al-Abdulmohsen lay facedown on the street with his hands behind his back, according to the 50-second clip obtained by the AP.

The video was taken at an intersection from a car inches away from the damaged vehicle, which al-Abdulmohsen is believed to have driven through the Christmas market just blocks away.

A passerby helped the lone officer as he flagged down two emergency vehicles speeding down the street.

Officers jumped out of the van and jumped over a railing separating the lanes as a dozen other officers rushed to the scene to arrest the suspected attacker.

Al-Abdulmohsen – identified from a Guardian report – fled to Germany as a Saudi refugee in 2006 and gained official refugee status in 2016.

The 50-year-old left his home country because of the Islamic government and settled in Bernburg, about 45 kilometers southeast of Magdeburg.

According to the Wall Street Journal, he has worked as a doctor and psychotherapist in the German city since receiving his permanent status.

Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the attacker after he posted extremist views on his personal X account that threatened peace and security, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing sources.

Al-Abdulmohsen’s attack began around 7:04 p.m. when he drove the car between two security bollards and sped down one of the crowded market’s alleys.

Surveillance footage of the attack showed the car speeding through the alley, leaving a trail of destruction as the injured victims lay on the ground while others panicked and ran away, while others stayed behind and tended to the injured.

An adult and an infant were among the known dead, but officials could not rule out the possibility of additional deaths.

41 people were critically injured, 86 were treated in hospital for serious injuries and another 78 suffered minor injuries.

Horrified witnesses tragically recalled the moment al-Abdulmohsen allegedly plowed his vehicle into the crowd of festive market-goers.

“There was a dead man lying next to me the whole time. “I had a man in my arms who had an open fracture and his foot was hanging to the side,” a woman recalled to the Bild newspaper.

The unidentified shopper said she also saw a child being resuscitated.

A woman, identified only as 32-year-old Nadine, was arm in arm with her boyfriend when the fatal attack happened, knocking her partner away.

“He was hit and pulled away from my side. It was terrible,” Nadine told the outlet, adding that her boyfriend suffered injuries to his legs and head.

Another witness said the streets around the market were flooded with first responders as paramedics, police and firefighters rushed to the scene to help the victims.

“It was a really chaotic situation. We saw blood on the floor, we saw people sitting next to each other with gold and silver foil around them. And we saw a lot of doctors trying to keep people warm and help them with their injuries,” MDR reporter Lars Frohmüller told the BBC.

“It’s a big shock. “It is a big shock for everyone here in Magdeburg and for every person in Saxony-Anhalt,” he added.

No motive or charges were announced Saturday morning.

“As things currently stand, this is a single perpetrator, so as far as we know there is no further danger to the city,” said Saxony-Anhalt’s state governor Reiner Haseloff. “Every life lost in this attack is a terrible tragedy and one life too many.”

With post wires.