A 41-year-old Syrian man is being held by authorities as a suspect in the Sunday morning arson attack on an apartment building in Essen.
The attack injured 31 people, including eight children, two of whom are hospitalized in critical condition. The suspect also threatened the building’s occupants with a machete when they tried to leave due to the fire.
The attack
Sandy A. set fire to an apartment building and then drove a van a few feet away and set fire to a second building. In both cases, he used flammable gas and lit fires on the wooden stairs, trapping those inside the buildings. Agonizing scenes followed, with the occupants trying to escape with their children via external folding ladders. Syros returned to his van and drove straight into the windows of two nearby stores, and as he exited, he brandished a machete at the people around him, who attempted to stop him by throwing various objects at him from a distance.
Most of the injured are hospitalized with respiratory problemswhile inhaling smoke. The condition of a seven-month-old baby and a two-year-old child is particularly serious.
Shortly afterwards, the police arrested the 41-year-old Syrian, who came to Germany in 2015 and has so far not mentioned his motives.
The goal
According to authorities, the target was a family from Lebanon who treated his ex-wife who abandoned him. According to the perpetrator, the Lebanese family pressured the woman to convince her to become a prostitute, while her lawyer argued that she faces psychological problems and suffers from hallucinations. Three years ago, Sandy A. was forced by authorities to leave the apartment where he lived with his wife and two children, after repeated incidents of domestic violence.
Source: AMPE
