A Syrian national was arrested in Germany on Saturday accused of setting fire to two apartment buildings, ramming a store with a van, and threatening people with machetes. The man’s alleged actions resulted in the injuries of 31 people, including young children.
The shocking series of events is understood to have been instigated by the breakdown of a personal relationship, leading the 41-year-old suspect to embark on a violent rampage.
The chaos began around 5:10 p.m. on Pielstickerstraße in Essen’s Altenessen district where residents witnessed thick smoke coming from a nearby apartment building. A second blaze soon erupted at another apartment building on Zollvereinstrasse, some 3 kilometers away.
Viral footage on social media showed residents using ladders to help rescue trapped children in the apartments amid other reports that minors were thrown onto cushions on the ground.
The suspect is also accused of driving a delivery truck into a grocery store on Katernbergerstrasse, before exiting the vehicle armed with a knife and machete and threatening locals before attempting to flee.
The man was apprehended by residents who detained him until the authorities arrived.
Among the 31 people injured, two young children suffered life-threatening injuries due to smoke inhalation and were taken to specialized clinics. In total, 19 people were injured in the second fire, while 12 were harmed in the first. Eight children were among the seriously injured, with medical experts noting the severe damage hot smoke can inflict on children’s lungs.
Authorities have identified the suspect as a 41-year-old Syrian national, who police believe deliberately targeted the buildings and shops due to a personal conflict. Germany’s Bild newspaper identified the suspect as Shadi. A, reporting that he arrived in Germany at the height of the migrant crisis back in 2015.
According to local officials, including Essen Mayor Thomas Kufen, the crimes were allegedly directed at members of the suspect’s estranged wife’s family. The suspect reportedly used fire accelerants to ignite the blazes.
“The acts were obviously aimed specifically at a family,” Kufen said. “It is deeply disturbing that even the lives of children were put at risk.”
CDU Interior Minister Herbert Reul of North Rhine-Westphalia also expressed his shock, stating, “This was all the work of a man who may not have been able to cope with the separation from his ex-wife. Many people were seriously injured, and apparently, he didn’t care about the damage his actions caused.”
Reul praised the bravery of local residents who helped subdue the suspect, potentially preventing further violence.
While investigations are ongoing, the suspect’s lawyer, Volker Schröder, has suggested the man was suffering from a mental disorder following a bitter family dispute over custody of his children. “There is no political motive here. This is a family tragedy, pure and simple,” Schröder told the press.
The attack is the latest in an alarming spike of high-profile crimes committed by Syrian nationals in Europe – 1 in 20 of whom now live in Germany.
This summer alone, 26-year-old Syrian migrant Issa al H. killed three people and injured eight others during a stabbing spree at the Festival of Diversity in Solingen; an 18-year-old Syrian teen was arrested for the fatal gang beating of 20-year-old Philippos T. in Bad Oeynhausen; and 25-year-old Ayman Al-K, also from Syria, was arrested for the rape of a young woman hours after being released from custody for the sexual assault of a pensioner.
