Hamburg stabbing suspect known as radical, mentally unstable
BERLIN (AP) – A German official says the man who fatally stabbed one person and wounded several others in Hamburg was known to authorities as an Islamic radical but also was psychologically unstable.
The suspect, a 26-year-old born in the United Arab Emirates, was quickly overwhelmed by passers-by and arrested after Friday’s attack in Hamburg’s Barmbek district.
Hamburg’s state interior minister, Andy Grote, said the man – whose asylum claim had been rejected – was known to have been radicalized but hadn’t been considered dangerous.
Grote said the man’s motive remained unclear Saturday, but he is believed to have acted alone and not been linked to an extremist network.
The man stabbed at least five people besides the one who was killed. Grote says none of the survivors’ wounds are considered life-threatening.
Police officers stand in front of the supermarket in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 28, 2017, where a man with a knife fatally stabbed one person and wounded four others as he fled, police said. He was then arrested. (Markus Scholz/dpa via AP)
Police officers and fire engines stand in front of the supermarket in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 28, 2017, where a man with a knife fatally stabbed one person and wounded four others as he fled, police said. He was then arrested. (Markus Scholz/dpa via AP)
Police officers secure the area after a knife attack at a supermarket in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 28, 2017. German police say one person died and several people suffered stab wounds. (Markus Scholz/dpa via AP)
In this Friday July 28, 2017 photo, police search a refugee shelter in Hamburg, Germany, in connection with a stabbing attack in a supermarket. A man armed with a kitchen knife fatally stabbed one person at a supermarket Friday in the northern German city of Hamburg and six others were injured as he fled, police said. He was overpowered and arrested. (Bodo Marks/dpa via AP)
