The suspect in Friday’s attack at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin was motivated by anti-Semitism, German prosecutors said on Saturday.
“According to what we know so far, especially based on statements made by the accused to the police, he has been planning to kill Jews for several weeks,” Berlin police said.
The incident had “connections with the Middle East conflict,” the public prosecutor’s office added.
The attack saw a 30-year-old Spanish tourist seriously injured with a knife.
The victim was hospitalized with wounds to his throat and underwent emergency operations. His life is no longer at risk.
Authorities said the suspect, who was apprehended by police hours after the incident, is a 19-year-old Syrian refugee who entered Germany as a minor in 2023.
He is believed to have specifically targeted the Holocaust Memorial in the German capital, which commemorates the approximately 6 million Jews murdered under Nazi rule.
The suspect was also said to be carrying a Koran and a prayer rug in his rucksack, suggesting a religious motive for the attack.
“Whether there is a mental illness is the subject of the investigation,” said police.
The accused had not previously committed any criminal offences in Berlin and was not known to the police or the judiciary.
There are no indications of links to other persons or organizations.
Prosecutors confirmed a report from the Bild tabloid that the Syrian suspect is living in refugee accommodation in the eastern city of Leipzig.
Investigations at the centre have reportedly already taken place.
The incident came just two days before Germany heads to the polls after an election campaign dominated by a series of attacks attributed to foreign nationals.
Berlin’s interior senator, Iris Spranger, denounced the attack and said she hoped the victim would recover.
“An attempted murder offence with suspected anti-Semitic motivation at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe – that is intolerable,” she said.
