2025 Bielefeld stabbing attack
| 2025 Bielefeld stabbing attack | |
|---|---|
| Location | Große-Kurfürsten-Straße 81, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany |
| Coordinates | 52°01′39″N 8°31′43″E / 52.027554°N 8.5286640°E |
| Date | May 18, 2025 4:20 a.m. |
The 2025 Bielefeld stabbing attack was a violent crime that took place on May 18, 2025, in Bielefeld, Germany, in which five bar patrons were stabbed, some seriously. The crime occurred in the early morning hours in the city center. Due to the suspected Islamist motivation of the suspect, a 35-year-old Syrian according to his papers, the investigation into the case is being led by the Federal Prosecutor's Office.
Course of events
[edit]At around 4:20 a.m., a man mingled with Arminia Bielefeld football fans partying in front of the bar Cutie on Große-Kurfürsten-Straße, about an eight-minute walk from Bielefeld Hauptbahnhof.[1][2] Shortly thereafter, he apparently randomly attacked several people using a cane with a retractable blade and a knife.[3] He injured at least five people: four men aged 22 to 27 and a 26-year-old woman. Four of the victims suffered serious injuries, two of whom were temporarily in critical condition. Some guests attempted to overpower the attacker, who sustained minor facial injuries.[4][5] This included a 26-year-old Arminia fan, who was already injured in the leg, throwing himself at the attacker and suffering several life-threatening stab wounds to the chest.[6] The police praised the Arminia fans for their courage and emphasized that without them there would have been deaths.[7]
Investigations
[edit]As later became known, the perpetrator fled by train via Hamm to Essen. Near the crime scene, police found a bag containing residence papers, several knives, and a bottle of flammable liquid. Hours later, police were notified by a citizen that the wanted man had apparently asked him at Essen Central Station if he could use the Deutsche Bahn Navigator app on his cell phone to find a connection to Velbert. Investigators identified three properties there as possible locations. The next evening, the suspect was arrested in an empty apartment in the neighboring Heiligenhaus district.[8] He resisted and sustained minor injuries. Due to suspicion of an Islamist-motivated attack, the Federal Prosecutor's Office took over the investigation.[4][5][9] In addition to his unremarkable contacts with a mosque community in Bielefeld, he also had contact with individuals considered to be relevant Islamist figures. According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, evidence has grown that he acted out of Islamist motivation.[10] The suspect used a translation app to declare that he sympathized with the "Islamic State (terrorist organization)" (IS). Investigators found handwritten notes in Arabic in his room, indicating an intense engagement with a Salafist interpretation of Islam. A hand-drawn note with a black banner, a flag used by Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda and IS, was also found.[11]
Suspect
[edit]The suspect is a Syrian from Al-Raqqa. According to his passport, he was born on January 1, 1990. Der Spiegel reports that he told German authorities that he initially lived in Turkey for four years and then illegally entered Germany with a smuggler, mostly on foot, via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic in August 2023, where he first applied for asylum. He was apparently not registered in the transit countries. He cited fear of hostilities and persecution by the Assad regime as the reason for his asylum application. In December 2023, he received subsidiary protection from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees and a residence permit valid until February 2027. He was housed in a refugee shelter in Harsewinkel, about 30 kilometers from Bielefeld.[1] There were no criminal records to date.[4][5]
Reactions
[edit]After the knife attack, Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) stated that evidence of an Islamist motive had grown. In this context, she pointed out that Islamist terrorism is one of the greatest threats to Germany.[5] The attack caused uncertainty among Bielefeld residents and raised concerns about an increase in knife attacks. Supporters of the football club Arminia Bielefeld honored an injured fan, who allegedly confronted the perpetrator, with a graffiti.[12]
At the request of the Alternative for Germany parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, a debate on internal security and knife attacks in Germany took place on May 21, 2025. The AfD parliamentary group's deputy domestic policy spokesperson, Martin Hess, spoke of exploding knife crime in Germany. The figures, he argued, showed that knife crime was a "predominantly imported crime." There was strong opposition from the other parliamentary groups. Clara Bünger of the Left Party, for example, called it "repulsive" how the AfD was exploiting the current case in Bielefeld to incite hatred against migrants.[13][14] On the same day, at the request of Bielefeld SPD MP Christina Kampmann, a Question Time on the attack was held in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) spoke of a "brilliant achievement by the police" in having caught the suspected perpetrator so quickly. The Minister for Refugees and Integration, Josefine Paul, announced that, according to the current status of the investigation, the suspected attacker had eight aliases. Three of them were known to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.[15]
On May 24, 2025, three demonstrations were held in Bielefeld. According to police, a private individual registered a gathering of approximately 200 people at the main train station under the slogan "Sympathy for the Victims" and "Remigration." Shortly thereafter, an "Alliance Against the Right" registered a vigil at the scene of the crime, the Cutie Bar.[16] In addition, left-wing groups called for a counter-demonstration at the main train station and for active resistance against the right-wing demonstration.[17] Only about 40 people showed up for the right-wing extremist demonstration, which was organized by right-wing extremist activist Daniel Kokott. Around 300 people participated in the counter-demonstration. Around 15 people attempted to actively disrupt the right-wing gathering, which led to verbal altercations and minor physical altercations. When pyrotechnics were detonated in the direction of the emergency services and the right-wing demonstration, the police used pepper spray.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Roman Lehberger, Levin Kubeth, Tobias Großekemper, Jörg Diehl, Jürgen Dahlkamp (2025-05-19). "Was über den Messerangriff in Bielefeld bekannt ist". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "German police search for a man who attacked and injured at least 5 people outside a bar". AP News. 2025-05-18. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
- ^ "Germany: Partygoers injured in possible terrorist attack, police say". euronews. 2025-05-18. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
- ^ a b c <ref>Christian Lund, Christine Panhorst, Lukas Brekenkamp, Jens Reichenbach, Paul Brinkmann, Ingo Müntz (2025-05-19). "Tatverdächtiger Bielefelder Messerangreifer ist gefasst – Opfer außer Lebensgefahr". nw.de. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d <ref>"Bundesanwaltschaft übernimmt nach Angriff in Bielefeld Ermittlungen". tagesschau.de. 2025-05-20. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
- ^ "Messerangriff in Bielefeld: Arminia-Fan (26) ist außer Lebensgefahr" radioguetersloh.de, 23. Mai 2025
- ^ Reichenbach, Jens. "Polizisten loben Arminia-Fans nach Messer-Anschlag: "Ohne Euch hätte es Tote gegeben"". Neue Westfälische (in German). Retrieved 2025-05-28.
- ^ "How the police found the fugitive Bielefeld attacker". n-tv.de. 2025-05-21. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
- ^ "Bielefeld: Federal Prosecutor General takes over investigation into knife attack". Spiegel Online. 2025-05-20. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
- ^ "Bundesanwaltschaft übernimmt Ermittlungen in Bielefeld" faz.net, 20 Mai 2025
- ^ Diehl, Jörg; Langer, Annette (2025-05-21). "Bielefeld: Tatverdächtiger Syrer sympathisiert offenbar mit dem »Islamischen Staat«". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
- ^ WDR (2025-05-22). "Menschen gedenken in Bielefeld den Verletzten des Messerangriffs mit Blumen und Graffiti". www1.wdr.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-05-28.
- ^ "Bundestag: "Danke für den Werbeblock", sagt der AfD-Politiker nach der Debatte über Messergewalt - WELT". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 2025-05-28.
- ^ "Deutscher Bundestag - Debatte über innere Sicherheit und Messerangriffe in Deutschland". Deutscher Bundestag (in German). Retrieved 2025-05-28.
- ^ KG, Radio Gütersloh / audio media service Produktionsg mbH & Co (2025-05-22). "NRW-Landtag spricht über Messerangriff von Bielefeld". www.radioguetersloh.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-05-28.
- ^ Jan-Ole Niermann (2025-05-22). "Betroffen Reaktionen nach Messerangriff in Bielefeld". www1.wdr.de. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ Lukas Brekenkamp, Jens Reichenbach, Sevim Hangül (2025-05-23). "Bielefelder "Bündnis gegen Rechts" stellt sich gegen Neonazi-Demo". nw.de. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Nach Messerangriff: Mehrere Gruppen demonstrieren in Bielefeld". wdr.de. 2025-05-24. Retrieved 2025-05-25.