Tourist injured in stabbing attack at Holocaust memorial in Berlin
German police apprehended the suspect who stabbed a Spanish tourist at the site of Berlin’s iconic Holocaust memorial on Friday.
The attack took place in the German capital’s downtown Mitte district, two days before the election in the Bundestag.
According to the news agency RBB, the suspect unexpectedly stabbed a man in the field of concrete slabs, which comprise the monument honoring the Jews killed by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime. The Spanish national has been hospitalized and is in stable condition.
The suspect approached a group of police officers later that day. Police spokesman Florian Nath told reporters that the assailant had blood on his hands when he was detained.
“There is no information about the man’s identity as of yet. The weapon has not been recovered,” Nath said.
Germany has seen a wave of terrorist attacks in recent months. In December, a Saudi-born anti-Islam activist drove an SUV into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing six people and injuring at least 299 more. In August 2024, a Syrian refugee fatally stabbed three people in Solingen, and, last month, an Afghan asylum seeker killed two people, including a toddler, in Aschaffenburg.
On February 13, another Afghan asylum seeker rammed a vehicle into a trade union demonstration in Munich, killing two people and injuring 37.
The uptick in terrorism has prompted renewed calls to crack down on immigration and extremism, which dominated the election campaign.
But, unfortunately, Germans are more afraid of the AfD than the people who are raping their daughters and killing them in the streets and on the trains. Madness!
Rotterdam medical student given life sentence for killing neighbors, professor
Erasmus University medical student Fouad L. was found guilty on Friday for the premeditated murders of his neighbor, her daughter, and his professor in a crime spree that terrified Rotterdam on September 28, 2023. While acknowledging that L. has a personality disorder that contributed to the murders, the judges handed L. a life sentence with almost no chance of parole, exceeding the prosecutor's recommendation of 30 years and mandatory psychiatric institutionalization for an indefinite period.
The court said that the motive was convincingly proven to be part of a revenge fantasy. L. blamed his neighbor for raising concerns with authorities about his treatment of animals and his general behavior which led to further scrutiny about whether he should be allowed to practice medicine. The doctor was blamed for delaying L.'s graduation from the Erasmus medical program.
The District Court in Rotterdam found L. guilty of first shooting his 14-year-old neighbor, Romy, then setting fire to her home on Heiman Dullaertplein in the Rotterdam district of Delfshaven. L. then shot the girl's mother, Marlous, repeatedly. The 39-year-old woman died at the scene. The court said L. then shot the teenager again as she lay injured on the ground. The girl died at a hospital from the gunshot wounds she sustained.
L. then drove his motorcycle a short distance to the Erasmus Medical Center where he shot Dr. Jurgen Damen in a lecture hall. The 43-year-old professor was pronounced dead at the scene. L. then set fires in the building using Molotov cocktails, the court said. He was also accused of threatening numerous people. He was eventually overpowered by the police outside."You ended the lives of three people in cold blood. They didn't stand a chance," the judges stated. "The suffering you have caused is great."
L. earlier told the court that, out of anger and frustration that he would not receive his medical diploma, he developed “a very terrible plan” to get revenge. “A lot of people had to die,” L. said during the trial. He confessed to the killings but also claimed in court that an imaginary computer inside his head ordered him to carry out the murders.
Islam - the cult of death!
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had asked the court to send the man to prison for 30 years, and an additional indefinite period of mandatory institutionalization in a TBS psychiatric facility. When justifying the long sentence, the OM stressed the “unfathomable sorrow” L. caused. “Sorrow for the loss of a father, mother, sister, brother, partner, child, and grandchild.”
The devastation they feel was very apparent when they spoke during the trial. Romy’s twin sister said that L. has taken part of herself. Their father addressed L. directly. “Did you get what you wanted? Was it worth it, so much loss, sorrow, and pain?”
Damen’s student assistant said he was still struggling with the guilt that he fled instead of staying behind to help Damen. He was standing next to Damen when L. shot him dead at close range. “You turned my life into hell. I still panic every day. I can’t call it living, I’m surviving. I see shot after shot and I'm scared of loud noises. It scares me to death.”
In issuing a life sentence, the court was not allowed to add a period of mandatory institutionalization in a TBS psychiatric facility. The court noted the "meticulous planning" involved in the crime spree, pointing out that L. had broken off his plan to carry out the murders. This showed that he was capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong, and acting accordingly, despite a diagnosed disassociative disorder. That was a key factor in giving a life sentence, instead of a 30-year sentence with treatment.
The court ordered L. to be re-evaluated by psychological experts in 25 years. After that, the Minister of Justice and Security can give consideration to granting early release no sooner than after L. has served 28 years behind bars.
Both the defendant and the prosecution can appeal either the verdict, the sentence, or both. An appeal must be filed within 14 days.
