Nfter the knife attack on four young men in a gym in the old town of Duisburg, a suspect was arrested by a special police task force on Sunday night.
This is a 26-year-old Syrian citizen, as a police spokeswoman told the FAZ. He is due to appear in court on Monday.
Two neighbors – who are also Syrians – recognized the man from surveillance footage around the gym. Shortly after the “Schwan” homicide commission published a corresponding photo on Saturday, the two Syrians reported to the police.
“These were very specific, detailed witness references,” said the police spokeswoman. Previously, several witnesses from the gym had identified the bearded man in the mug shot as the alleged attacker.
Several knives were found in the suspect’s apartment. “We are currently checking whether one of them is the murder weapon,” said the police spokeswoman for the FAZ
At around 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday, a man suddenly attacked and seriously injured four young athletes aged between 21 and 32 in the branch of the fitness chain “John Reed” near the Duisburg town hall; the youngest victim is still in mortal danger. The four victims are Germans.
The crime is still a mystery to investigators. On the one hand, according to previous investigations, the attacker and the victim did not know each other. On the other hand, the evidence gathered so far seemed to indicate that the perpetrator purposefully attacked the youngest victim. The alleged perpetrator had come to Germany as a refugee and has not yet appeared to the police.