Prosecutors in Naumburg have filed charges against a 50-year-old man accused of carrying out an attack at the Magdeburg Christmas market on December 20, 2024. The announcement was made by the public prosecutor’s office on Tuesday. The defendant, a Saudi Arabian physician, has been in custody since the incident.
According to the indictment, the man allegedly drove a high-performance BMW X3 into the crowded Christmas market, causing damage to a total of 344 individuals. Six people – five women aged between 45 and 75 and a nine-year-old boy – were killed. He is also accused of attempted murder of an additional 338 people, as well as dangerous bodily harm.
Investigations have reportedly revealed that the accused had been planning the act for several weeks. The prosecution states he acted out of dissatisfaction stemming from a civil dispute and allegedly intended to kill as many people as possible. The public prosecutor’s office has included 410 witnesses and a substantial amount of evidence in the indictment. The Magdeburg Regional Court will now decide whether to admit the charges for trial.