IAccording to investigators, there is no evidence of a terrorist background in the case of the attack on a regional train from Kiel to Hamburg, in which a man killed two people and injured several on Wednesday. The spokesman for the Itzehoe public prosecutor’s office, Peter Müller-Rakow, told the German Press Agency on Thursday.
On Wednesday afternoon, the man stabbed several passengers while driving. According to the information, the perpetrator is a 33-year-old stateless Palestinian. Until recently, the alleged perpetrator was still in a Hamburg correctional facility (JVA). The reason was a bodily harm, said the police department in Itzehoe, Schleswig-Holstein, on Thursday. According to dpa information, the man was housed in the Hamburg JVA Billwerder. Most recently, the stateless Palestinian was without a permanent address, according to the police. According to the dpa, he was reported to have been in Euskirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia for several years.
According to the “Spiegel” the man was in custody until January 19 for a very similar crime. Accordingly, the man is said to have stabbed a man in January 2022 at a food distribution for the homeless. The “Spiegel” relies on the statement of the Hamburg court spokesman Kai Wantzen. According to Wantzen, the injuries inflicted were “potentially life-threatening”. The alleged perpetrator had stated that he had consumed large amounts of cocaine, heroin and alcohol before the crime.
The alleged perpetrator was also shortly before the act on Wednesday in the Kiel immigration office. The 33-year-old has applied for a residence card, said Schleswig-Holstein’s Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack (CDU) on Thursday in a special session of the state parliament. From there he was sent to the registration office.
Brave passengers prevented worse
The alleged perpetrator is to be brought before the magistrate in the afternoon. Dozens of people witnessed the crime, brave passengers probably prevented worse.
The two victims of the attack are a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old woman. “One of the victims is female and one is male. Everything else will follow during the day,” said a police spokeswoman in Itzehoe on Thursday. The identities of the two dead have also been clarified. “We’ll definitely say something today.” The condition and severity of the injuries to the other victims was initially unclear in the morning.
Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack (CDU) also commented on Thursday in the special session on the identity of the 17-year-olds and 19-year-olds who were killed: “They knew each other.” In the morning, the minister was still 16 years old years specified.
Evidence that the attacker may be mentally confused
According to police, the suspect was taken to hospital with minor injuries. “The background is still unclear,” said a police spokeswoman. There were initial indications that the alleged attacker could be mentally disturbed. The German press agency learned this from security circles. According to preliminary findings, he had not been noticed as an extremist in northern Germany.
According to consistent media reports, the man is said to have made several police appearances and had multiple criminal records. A total of twelve times has been determined against him. According to security circles, there were, among other things, proceedings for threats, bodily harm, property damage, shoplifting and sexual harassment. According to “Bild”, the crimes took place between 2015 and 2020 in Euskirchen, Bonn, Bad Münstereifel and Cologne.