The man alleged to have shot and killed four people at the Brussels Jewish Museum on May 24, Mehdi Nemmouche, was charged with “murder in a terrorist context” in Brussels on Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post reports. Nemmouche was extradited to Belgium from France on Tuesday, a little over a month after French authorities announced their intention to do so.
The 29-year-old is a French citizen of Algerian descent. He was arrested on May 30 in the southern French city of Marseille during a routine customs search of a bus on which he was traveling. During the course of their search authorities discovered weapons that appeared to be those used in the attach at the Brussels Jewish Museum.
The attack was carried out using a AK-47 style assault rifle and a handgun, according to surveillance footage released by Belgian police. Three of the victims, a museum employee and two Israeli tourists, died at the scene. The fourth, another museum employee, died at the hospital on June 6th from his wounds.
As artnet News previously reported, Nemmouche initially attempted to fight extradition. He is said to have feared being sent to Israel for trial, according toe the Jerusalem Post‘s report. However, his appeal was unsuccessful and lawyers advised against pursuing a further appeal in a higher court.
According to a Belgian prosecutor, authorities recovered a video after Nemmouche was arrested in which he can allegedly be heard claiming responsibility for the attack. Authorities say that he traveled to Syria in 2012 after being released from incarceration in a French jail for an armed robbery charge. He is said to have fought with jihadists in Syria and to have become further radicalized before returning to Europe to carry out the attack.