A man in Belgrade approached a police station carrying a backpack with a crossbow, two days after being attacked with a similar weapon against the Israeli embassy guard in the Serbian capital.
According to authorities, the suspect drove past the barricade in front of the police station and, when told to stop, fled. Shortly after, he was stopped by police and arrested.
“A crossbow with seven arrows, several knives and a container containing fireworks were found in his backpack. His motives are being investigated and his home is also being searched,” Serbian police said, adding that the detained man was not on a list of known extremists. He said he was “being pursued by the mafia and the secret services” and would undergo a medical examination and then be interviewed by an investigator and a prosecutor, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said.
Security services in Serbia are on high alert following Saturday’s attack outside the Israeli embassy in Belgrade, where a man armed with a crossbow wounded a police guard in the neck. The latter shot and killed the attacker.
Dacic announced that the perpetrator of Saturday’s “terrorist attack” was a 25-year-old Serb who converted to Islam. His wife, who is in Montenegro, was questioned by police at the request of Serbian authorities.
Source: RES-MPE