Berlin Holocaust Memorial knife attacker was asylum...

THE suspect behind a sick knife attack at Berlin's Holocaust Memorial said he wanted to "kill people out of hatred of Jews", cops have said. The man, a Syrian refugee, reportedly attempted to slit the throat of a 30-year-old Spanish tourist from behind when horror unfolded on Friday evening.

Image Credit: The Sun [Police officers arresting a man near a crime scene.]

The victim, believed to be from Bilbao, suffered life threatening injuries and was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. Berlin police said Friday that the victim was injured with a sharp object when the attack unfolded around 6pm. The victim's life was saved by quick medical intervention, and he was placed in an artificial coma for some time.

Image Credit: The Sun [Police at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin following an incident.]

He is now in a stable condition. New details reveal that Wassim al M. was already known to Saxon police for multiple offences but not classified as a repeat or serious offender, Bild reports. The Saxon Interior Ministry stated that his previous crimes were "simple crimes of general criminality" and had no apparent political motive.

Image Credit: The Sun [Police officer at a crime scene at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.]

But during his interrogation the attacker reportedly admitted that he had planned the attack for weeks, driven by the hatred of Jews. A joint statement from the police and the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office said: "According to previous investigations and current knowledge, there are apparently connections with the Middle East conflict.

Image Credit: The Sun [Emergency vehicles at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin near the US Embassy.]

"According to current knowledge, in particular based on corresponding statements made by the accused to the police, the plan to kill Jews is said to have been maturing in his mind for several weeks.". Investigators discovered a Koran, a prayer rug, and a hunting knife - believed to be the attack weapon - in his backpack, according to Bild.

Image Credit: The Sun [Police officer guarding the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.]

After the attack, Wassim al M. fled the scene, sparking a major police manhunt. Around three hours later, Berlin police arrested him near the crime scene, still covered in blood and carrying the suspected weapon. According to asylum records seen by Bild, Wassim al M. arrived in Germany as an unaccompanied minor in 2023.

Image Credit: The Sun [Police officers at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.]

At the time, he claimed he was fleeing persecution from the Assad regime in Syria, saying he had been hunted, imprisoned, and tortured. His asylum application was processed over 15 months, and in October 2024, he was granted refugee protection status. He had been living in a refugee shelter in Leipzig’s Zentrum-Nord district with around 230 others.

Image Credit: The Sun [Emergency responders at a scene in Berlin, Germany.]

Wassim al M. is due to appear before a judge on Saturday. The vile attack took place on the northern side of the 19,000sq metre monument made up of 2,700 grey concrete slabs, near the US Embassy. Cops cordoned off the crime scene between the Memorial and the Embassy in Berlin's Mitte district on Friday night.

Image Credit: The Sun [Police and ambulances at night in Berlin, Germany, following a possible knife attack.]

They later confirmed they detained a blood-stained suspect after a manhunt was triggered. A "major operation" was launched immediately after the attack to track down the perpetrator who was believed to still be armed. Cops found blood-stained clothing at the scene which they seized as evidence.

At around 9pm local time, Berlin Police stated that a suspect had been arrested near the scene after finding him with "visible blood stains". They said: "Our officers have arrested a suspect near the crime scene. "The person's identity is being checked and the investigation is ongoing.".

Images showed the suspect surrounded by officers and held face-down on the ground. The police later said: "Our emergency services arrested the man due to visible blood stains. "The investigation and the crime scene work were carried out jointly by #Staatsschutz and one #Moko of our #LKA .

"A larger area around the crime scene is currently being searched for clues by additional emergency services, police dogs and the police helicopter.". It is not clear if the victim is known to the suspect. Berlin fire services spokesman Dominik Pritz said that six people who witnessed the incident and suffered from shock were cared for by emergency services.

Police spokesman Florian Nath added that officers arrived to find the victim had "injuries from a stabbing weapon" and that there was no sign of it having been dumped in the nearby area. Before the arrest was made, the spokesman said that the suspect was "on the run" and "witnesses claimed to have seen a man running away.".

A local AFP reporter who was nearby, said a firetruck with a cherry picker crane was being used to try to gain a bird's eye view of the sprawling site to look for the attacker. Berlin cops said in a statement on X: "At around 6pm, a man was seriously injured by an unknown person in the Field of Stelae at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in #Mitte.

"The injured man was taken to hospital. Rescue workers are on site caring for several people who had to witness the events. "Investigations are ongoing at the crime scene.". The incident comes just hours after a Russian teenager was arrested on suspicion of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in the German capital.

An 18-year-old had been attempting to flee Germany at the Brandenburg Airport when he was detained, Bild reported. According to the outlet, the arrest involving riot police and specialist officers came after cops received a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency.