Prosecutors allege the driver who intentionally drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg last month had been formulating attack plans for over a year, according to a 206-page indictment revealed by investigative magazine “Der Spiegel”.
The indictment, filed by the Naumburg General Public Prosecutor’s Office, details that the 50-year-old Saudi Arabian national conducted reconnaissance in Magdeburg’s city center between August and November 2023, reportedly focusing on the local public prosecutor’s office. These alleged preparations stemmed from a civil court ruling he lost at that time.
According to the indictment, the man admitted in a letter written from custody that he immediately decided to attack the prosecutor’s office using gas cylinders. Investigators found that, during this period, he rented a Seat SUV as part of preparing for a potential attack, but then temporarily abandoned those plans.
The Christmas market attack in December 2024, authorities now allege, was triggered by a subsequent unfavorable court decision. This latest ruling concerned a long-running dispute with a refugee aid organization, against whom he had filed numerous criminal complaints and accusations. The man reportedly described the court’s decision as “unforgivable” in the letter from custody. The General Public Prosecutor’s Office believes the attack was an act of revenge for this perceived personal grievance, carried out by deliberately targeting and killing randomly selected victims.