31 People Injured, Including Eight Children: Syrian Man Armed with Machete Car Crashes and Sets Houses on Fire in Germany
31 injured, including eight children, two of whom are in life-threatening condition, are the result of a horrific attack by a 41-year-old Syrian man in Essen over the weekend, German media reported.
On Saturday night, the man, armed with a knife and a machete, drove his van into several shops and set fire to several houses.
According to police, the man used a fire starter to commit the crimes. He specifically drove to flats and shops in Essen. He would then break into residential buildings and shops and deliberately set fires to kill the occupants and destroy the buildings. The actions were observed by witnesses.
He returned to his van and drove to Katernberger Strasse. There, he drove the van into the window of a vegetable shop. He reversed and hit the front again. The driver drove into another store on Katernberger Strasse. This time he got out and pulled out a machete. Videos were posted on social media showing the attacker threatening people with the weapon. Passers-by ran away and kept him at bay by throwing objects at him.
The Essen fire department received an emergency call at around 17:10 local time on Saturday evening after a fire broke out in a residential building in the Altenessen district.
Rescuers used a swivel ladder to evacuate people standing by the windows, shrouded in smoke, calling for help.
Thirty-one people were injured, including eight children, two of whom were seriously injured and hospitalised. Parents passed their children from the roof to the rescuers. The fire was eventually extinguished.
As the police later reported, the Syrian man allegedly committed the attack because his wife had divorced him. It is noted that he set fire to two residential buildings and rammed a truck into shops.
On Sunday, 29 September, the Essen Public Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant for the man, among other things, for aggravated arson and attempted murder. He was already known to the police for threats and property damage. The police say the investigation is ongoing. The detainee arrived in Germany in 2015, Bild reports.