BERLIN (AP) — A man suspected of attacking and injuring five people outside a bar in Germany has been arrested, and investigators believe the attack may have been “religiously motivated,” authorities said Tuesday.
The suspect, a 35-year-old Syrian national identified only as Mahmoud M. in line with privacy rules, was arrested late Monday in Heiligenhaus, near Düsseldorf. Police said tips from witnesses led investigators to the suspect, who was slightly injured while trying to resist arrest.
Early Sunday, a man wielding sharp object attacked five men between 22 and 27 outside a bar in the western city of Bielefeld. Four were seriously injured.
Federal prosecutors, who investigate many terror and national security cases in Germany, said they were taking over the case because “there is a suspicion that the crime was religiously motivated and should be understood as an attack on the free democratic order.” They didn’t elaborate.
The man is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder and bodily harm.
Herbert Reul, the top security official in North Rhine-Westphalia state, said the suspect came to Germany via Turkey and was granted temporary protected status in December 2023.
German news agency dpa reported that the men were soccer fans who defended themselves against the attacker before he fled.
The city’s Arminia Bielefeld soccer club celebrated winning first place in Germany’s third division on Saturday and has reached the final of the German Cup.
