What happened in Würzburg?
Apparently without warning, a 24-year-old man killed three people and seriously injured five others late Friday afternoon. Two of them are still in mortal danger on Saturday. According to the police, there are also other minor injuries, two of whom have since left the hospital. There is also a young boy among the injured, his father probably dead.
The attack began in the Woolworth department store on Barbarossaplatz in the city center, where the three people were killed. Then the alleged perpetrator ran out onto the street and attacked other passers-by whom he probably doesn’t know from what was known so far. According to Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU), many women are among the victims. Videos on social media show a man in a beige sweater, white FFP2 mask and a long knife in hand. And they show how several passers-by finally try to stop the man until the police arrive. This was alerted around 5 p.m.
Who is the culprit?
According to SZ information, the alleged perpetrator is the 24-year-old Jibril A .. He is said to have been born in 1997 in the Somali capital Mogadishu. According to Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU), he has been living in Germany since 2015, most recently in a homeless shelter in Würzburg. According to information from the German Press Agency, the 24-year-old received subsidiary protection. It is not yet known whether he has a criminal record or how he came to Germany.
Policemen outside Woolworth, where three people died.
(Photo: AP)
According to the mayor of Würzburg, Christian Schuchardt (CDU), he was known to the police. It was only a few days ago that he became mentally abnormal for the first time and was forcibly treated, said Herrmann. He probably attacked his victims indiscriminately, they “were in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
What was his motive?
The exact background of the attack in the middle of downtown Würzburg is still unclear. According to the latest findings, however, there are indications of an Islamist motive for the alleged perpetrator. During his interrogation, he made a statement that suggests religious fanaticism, according to dpa information on Saturday from security circles. So far, however, there are no indications of contacts with militant Salafists. According to Interior Minister Herrmann, a witness stated that the suspect had shouted “Alluha Akbar” (German: God is great) during the crime. But the investigators also do not rule out that the 24-year-old suffers from a mental illness and that this is the background to the crime.
How is the investigation going?
The investigation into the exact background of the crime is currently in full swing. According to Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), federal and state security authorities now have to clarify why something like this could happen. The Würzburg criminal police are in close contact with the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office and the Würzburg public prosecutor’s office, according to a statement from the police. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) also commented on the attack on Saturday. “I am deeply shocked by this incredibly brutal act,” he said. A final assessment of the motive for the crime is still not possible.
A large part of the area around Barbarossaplatz was cordoned off later in the evening, and the Lower Franconian police are increasingly present in the Würzburg city center on Saturday, a helicopter is in action. The alleged perpetrator was stopped and arrested immediately after the attack by a police shot. He was shot through the thigh, but his life is not in danger. The investigators have no evidence of a second perpetrator.
The officers are now in the homeless shelter where the 24-year-old last lived – they will not reveal whether they have been able to secure evidence on Saturday morning. A press conference on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. will provide information on the current status.