Around eight months after the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market that left six people dead, the suspected perpetrator has been charged with six counts of murder and 338 counts of attempted murder.
The charges against 50-year-old Taleb A. were filed with the Magdeburg Regional Court, which will now decide whether to open the trial.
The doctor, originally from Saudi Arabia, drove a rental car through the busy Christmas market on 20 December 2024, hitting numerous people. A nine-year-old boy and five women aged 45 to 75 were killed. Investigators say 309 people were injured, while another 29 were physically unharmed but are still included in the attempted murder charges.
Prosecutors believe “dissatisfaction and frustration” were the motives. The crime was allegedly carried out in response “to the course and outcome of a civil dispute, as well as the unsuccessful filing of various criminal charges.” According to investigators, the suspect planned the attack in detail for several weeks and acted alone.
The indictment states that the accused intended to kill “as many people as possible” during the roughly one-minute drive through the market. The attack was described as “insidious, with base motives,” and committed using a vehicle as a dangerous weapon. He reached speeds of nearly 50 km/h. Prosecutors noted he was not under the influence of alcohol.
The attack in Saxony-Anhalt’s state capital caused shock and sparked political debate on domestic security. A., who had lived in Germany for several years and worked as a doctor, was arrested nearby immediately after the incident and has been in custody since. Authorities later confirmed he had been known to security services, though he did not fit into existing categories of extremist threats.
After the attack, criticism was raised over alleged shortcomings in the Christmas market’s security concept. Such events have typically been protected with access barriers for several years. In January, the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament set up a committee of inquiry to investigate possible administrative failings.
Prosecutors maintain that the accused does not suffer from any mental illness that would affect his criminal responsibility. In June, following a preliminary psychiatric report, they confirmed he would remain in custody rather than being transferred to a psychiatric facility.
Alongside the murder and attempted murder charges, he also faces counts of dangerous bodily harm to 309 people and dangerous interference with road traffic with intent to cause an accident. The indictment runs to 206 pages and includes 410 witnesses, 494 documents, and five expert witnesses. It remains unclear when the Regional Court will rule on admitting the charges.
