Duisburg: Gym attacker – two bloody deeds in ten days?

Duisburg
Gym attacker – Two bloody deeds in ten days?

After a double hit in the DNA comparison, there is another serious allegation against the 26-year-old suspect of the gym attack in Duisburg: The man is said to have stabbed and killed a person ten days earlier very close by.

At Easter, a 35-year-old party guest in the old town was fatally injured with numerous knife wounds under unclear circumstances. There is “strong suspicion” against the Syrian in this matter, said the Attorney General in Düsseldorf.

The most important piece of evidence is a shoe confiscated from the suspect. Traces of blood from the victims of the gym attack with four serious injuries and from the party guest who was killed at Easter were found on the shoe, said Anna Stelmaszczyk, head of department in the NRW Ministry of Justice in the Interior Committee of the NRW state parliament.

Reference to Islamism

The country’s central office for the prosecution of terrorism has taken over the further investigations. Texts and images were found on the 26-year-old’s mobile phone that at first glance indicated an Islamist connection, said NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) in the Interior Committee.

At first, there seems to be a lot to be said for a relatively clear case that was cleared up by the police at lightning speed: Immediately after the crime in the gym – a full three minutes after the first emergency call on April 18 at 5:18 p.m. – the first officers were at the scene. In a short time, a major alarm was triggered with more than 400 officials including special forces, the minister described in the committee.

The police spoke to 122 people directly at the crime scene and checked who could be a witness. Because the gym has no surveillance cameras, cameras in neighboring shops and a tram stop were then tapped – with success. There was a photo of a southern-looking man with a long black beard that witnesses had described as the perpetrator. After the publication, two of the man’s acquaintances reported who recognized the 26-year-old “one hundred percent”, as a prosecutor described a few days ago. There was an arrest.

But why should he have committed one or even both acts?

The perplexity on this question was evident in the otherwise rather hands-on approach of the NRW interior minister. The 26-year-old came to Germany seven years ago and applied for asylum, Reul reported. “He was inconspicuous for seven years, nothing happened for seven years.” Except for two minor offenses, he was never noticed in the whole time.

The man is silent in custody. That was “atypical for an assassin who wants to classify his act,” said Reul. The act of committing a crime is also not consistent with an attack or an amok act. The perpetrator did not stab at the entrance to the studio, but first went into the changing room. After that he calmly left the building and did not launch any further attacks. “What made the accused suddenly commit such serious crimes?” Reul asked. There are currently no indications of further acts by the 26-year-old.

Reul pointed out that the Islamist references on the man’s cell phone, for which no details were given, first had to be checked how old they were. The man may have become radicalized earlier, but has long since overcome that. Personal motives against one of the gym visitors or psychological problems are also possible. The 26-year-old should also be psychiatrically examined, as the investigators had said.

In any case, the 26-year-old Syrian has not yet been a case for the federal prosecutor. The Karlsruhe authority was informed in detail from NRW. According to a spokeswoman, she is not currently taking over the procedure.

dpa