After the fatal knife attack in Würzburg, some things are known for sure about the crime - but nothing else.
An overview of the findings so far.
Würzburg - After the fatal knife attack with three dead, the investigators can not say anything more precise about the motive of the perpetrator.
So far there are only a few indications and these point to an Islamist background.
However, there is also the assumption that the man is mentally ill and therefore possibly incompetent.
But some things are already certain.
We show an overview of what is already known and what is not.
We know that about the knife attack in Würzburg
The fact:
It is Friday afternoon, June 25th. According to the investigators, the Somali man entered a department store on Barbarossaplatz in Würzburg * at around 5 p.m. So he asks a saleswoman about the household department and takes a knife from the display. Obviously, he stabbed several people without warning. As a result, three women die. He also attacked several passers-by in a bank across the street and on the street, whom he probably did not know according to what the police knew. Seven people are injured, five of them life-threatening, including a child.
The victims:
three women aged 24, 49 and 82 die in the department store. They lived in Lower Franconia - in the districts of Main-Spessart and Würzburg and in the city of Würzburg. In addition, the attacker slightly injured three other women (39, 52, 73), a girl (11) and a young person (16) with a knife, as well as a man (57) and another woman (26). The eleven-year-old is the daughter of the 49-year-old who was killed. The 26-year-old lives in the Main-Tauber district in Baden-Württemberg. According to the police, all other injured people come from the city and district of Würzburg.
The perpetrator:
The man from Somalia, a country with civil war, will travel to Germany on May 6, 2015.
The asylum seeker has been registered in Würzburg since September 4, 2019.
His asylum application was rejected in 2016, but he received subsidiary protection - so he was legally residing in Germany and not allowed to be deported to the African country.
The man is 24 years old and is said to have been born in Mogadishu.
Most recently he lived in a homeless shelter in Würzburg.
It is unclear exactly why he left his homeland, in which there has been civil war for 30 years.
The police knew of the man before the attack because of his aggressive behavior.
After psychological problems, he also had to undergo psychiatric treatment - compulsorily, as State Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) says.
The investigations:
The police are present on the day with a large contingent in the university town. A helicopter is also used. Officials are searching the homeless shelter, securing evidence. The investigators have no evidence of a second perpetrator. On Saturday, the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) and the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office take over the investigation. This is the case when there is a rampage. However, the Federal Prosecutor would be responsible for a clear terrorist attack. Items found in the property also included two cell phones. The LKA assumes that they belong to the suspect. Islamic scholars are currently evaluating the findings. It is unclear whether objects were discovered that could indicate a political motive. The LKA has not yet revealed which evidence has been secured in detail.
In the video: Bavaria's Interior Minister Herrmann sees “blatant suspicions” on an Islamist background
We don't know about the fatal knife attack
The motive:
There is a lot of speculation and theories regarding this question. Is the 24-year-old an Islamist? Or mentally ill and possibly incompetent? Or was he just confused at times? Or was he purposeful? Did he mainly want to kill women? Interior Minister Herrmann says there are indications of an Islamist attack. He bases this on the testimony of a witness, according to which the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” (German: “God is great”). Jihadists and Salafists often use the expression "Allahu Akbar" as a battle cry. In doing so, the extremists are hijacking the central religious formula of Islam, which has been used by Muslims around the world for centuries.
The background:
the man has appeared several times * since he entered Germany.
Once he was said to have wielded a knife in the homeless shelter after an argument with roommates and the administration.
Nobody was injured.
The last time he harassed road users in Würzburg in a mentally distressed state a few weeks ago, he even sat in the passenger seat of a car driver.
The 24-year-old was then taken to a psychiatric facility, but was able to go home after a day because he did not need treatment.
In our news ticker on the fatal knife attack in Würzburg, we will keep you up to date on everything.
(dpa / ly) * Merkur.de / bayern is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
