Berlin (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Berlin prosecutors said that the man arrested after a Spanish tourist was stabbed at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial was a 19-year-old Syrian refugee.
The incident occurred a day before a national election in which worries over migration are expected to increase the far-right AfD party. Motivated by the Middle Eastern confrontation, the suspect seems to have been preparing to kill Jews for several weeks, which is why he picked this location, the prosecutors stated in a statement.
German Police arrested the suspect shortly after the stabbing. The suspect hands and trousers were stained with blood.
The 30-year-old Spanish traveler experienced emergency surgery. His neck was wounded. He was placed in an induced coma, the statement stated, saying that he is no longer in a life-threatening situation.
What role does the attack play in Germany’s election?
The campaign for election has been tainted by a series of high-profile attacks. The suspects in the attacks are from migrant backgrounds. It shifted the emphasis away from Germany’s weak economy and boosted support for the Alternative for Germany. According to estimates, the party is on track to secure second place.
The AfD has succeeded in new support in western regions from voters discouraged by Germany’s frail economy, aiming for curbs on migration and fed up with political stagnation. It has also drawn younger people.
Moreover, a stabbing in which two were slain, including a toddler was accused of an Afghan immigrant, stirring the conservative CDU/CSU bloc to break a taboo on collaborating with the far-right to push a motion to clamp down on migration through parliament with the consent of the AfD.
In December, a Saudi guy who had resided in Germany for years, and whose social media posts showed he sympathized with the AfD crashed a car into a Christmas market. The incident killed six and injured hundreds.
