In the case of the knife attack by a Syrian on passengers of an ICE train between Nuremberg and Regensburg on November 6, there was a twist.
The investigators are now assuming that the act was motivated by Islamist extremism. Therefore, the Attorney General in Karlsruhe took over the case, said the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Süddeutsche Zeitung was the first to report on it.
Four passengers in the ICE seriously injured
On November 6, a then 27-year-old on the ICE train between Regensburg and Nuremberg pulled out a knife with an eight-centimetre-long blade and apparently stabbed passengers at random, four of them were seriously injured. After the attack, he allowed himself to be arrested without resistance.
Doubts about mental illness
First, the man had come to a psychiatric clinic. The suspect suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, according to an initial psychological assessment of the man immediately after the crime. “I’m sick. I need help” – that’s what the man is said to have said when he was arrested. He was then placed in a district hospital.
Nevertheless, the Bavarian Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism (ZET), which is based at the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office, initially took over the investigation. This always happens when an extremist or terrorist motivation is conceivable in a procedure of major importance.
Reports show culpability – investigators find terror propaganda videos
Several reports came to the conclusion that the suspect is guilty. He has been in a pre-trial detention center since January 19.
After the crime, investigators discovered propaganda videos from the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) on him. It was previously unclear whether an extremist motivation could have played a role in the attack. The man is accused of, among other things, attempted murder in two cases, attempted manslaughter and intentional bodily harm.
(with material from dpa)