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Rescue workers guard the crime scene in front of the synagogue in Hamburg (archive)
Photo: Jonas Walzberg / dpa
The act was not anti-Semitically motivated, but was triggered by a mental illness: The public prosecutor's office considers the 29-year-old, who attacked a Jewish student in October in front of a Hamburg synagogue, to be innocent.
This was determined by a preliminary psychiatric report.
"Due to the mental illness of the accused, it is not possible to determine a motive in the classic sense," said Chief Public Prosecutor Nana Frombach.
The man had attacked a visitor to the Hamburg synagogue with a folding spade last October.
During the act he wore a Bundeswehr uniform.
The investigators found a pocket knife in his pocket - and a piece of paper with a swastika painted on it.
According to the report, the 29-year-old was no longer able to act in a targeted manner because his control and insight had been completely eliminated.
The 26-year-old victim wanted to go to the synagogue for the Feast of Tabernacles, the young man wore a kippah and was clearly recognizable as a Jew.
The public prosecutor's office accuses the attacker of attempted insidious murder and dangerous physical harm.
The act was directed specifically against a person of Jewish faith, said Frombach.
It also cannot be ruled out that the accused could have been anti-Semitic before his illness.
"We don't know." For legal reasons, she was not allowed to give details from the report.
Presumably, the trial will also take place in camera.
After the fact, the 29-year-old was placed in a psychiatric clinic on a court order.
The chairman of the Hamburg Jewish Community, Philipp Stricharz, told the broadcaster NDR 90.3 that there could be no doubt about an anti-Jewish motive.
"It must be recognized that we are threatened as a Jewish community," emphasized Stricharz.
He also asked how one should prevent anti-Semitic acts in the future if they were not even labeled as anti-Semitic.
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lmd / dpa