According to the investigative authorities, the knife attack in an ICE near Seubersdorf in the Neumarkt district in Upper Palatinate on the first weekend in November may have an extremist background.
Islamist motive cannot be ruled out
This was indicated by content on the accused 27-year-old Syrian’s Facebook account and propaganda videos from the Islamic State (IS) that were found during an apartment search, the attorney general said in Munich on Tuesday. An Islamist motive for the act cannot be ruled out. The investigation would therefore be taken over by the Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism (ZET).
On November 6, the man attacked passengers on the train from Passau to Hamburg with a knife and injured four men, some seriously.
Perpetrator incapable of guilt or not?
So far, the authorities had assumed that the man was mentally disturbed. He was taken to a psychiatric hospital after the crime. At the time of the offense, an expert judged him to be incapable of guilt. For a final assessment of this question, however, a detailed report must be drawn up, the public prosecutor has now declared. In the meantime, the documents that have been seized will be further evaluated. Other witnesses are also to be heard.
Last injured discharged from hospital
Of the four injured men, the last one who was treated in the hospital was released yesterday.