The Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office believes that the knife attack on a 30-year-old Spanish tourist at the Holocaust Memorial had an anti-Semitic motive.
According to the authorities, statements from the suspect to the police suggest that he had been planning to kill Jews for several weeks.
This anti-Semitic motive is believed to explain the choice of the Holocaust Memorial as the crime scene. The memorial, located in Berlin’s historic centre, commemorates the six million Jews murdered under Nazi rule.
Police found a knife – the suspected murder weapon – in the man’s backpack, along with a Quran, a piece of paper with verses from the Quran, and a prayer rug. Authorities also searched the refugee centre in Leipzig where the man was staying. He is scheduled to appear before a judge later on Saturday.
Earlier, it was revealed that the suspected perpetrator is a 19-year-old recognised refugee from Syria. He was arrested on Friday evening, just a few hours after the incident.
