41-year-old before a judge
The motive for the Essen attack was separation from his wife
September 29, 2024, 11:36 a.m
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In Essen, 31 people are injured by fires in apartment buildings, two small children are critically injured. A 41-year-old suspect is caught. According to Mayor Kufen, the attacks are directed against family members. The police suspect attempted murder and issue an arrest warrant.
An arrest warrant has been issued against the man who is said to have set fire to two apartment buildings in Essen for aggravated arson and attempted murder. This was reported by a spokesman for the Essen police. The 41-year-old is accused of starting the fires on Saturday with accelerant. According to the fire department, 31 residents were injured, including two small children with life-threatening injuries.
According to Mayor Thomas Kufen, the suspected arsons were directed against members of the same family. “The acts were obviously aimed specifically at a family,” said the CDU politician. He was particularly affected by the fact that it was accepted that small children would be harmed. The Ruhr area city experienced “dramatic hours”.
Kufen thanked the fire brigade, rescue workers and police for their very good work. “I would like to thank everyone who calmly helped to bring the alleged perpetrator to task for their moral courage.” Several men, some with shovels and poles in their hands, caught the perpetrator and held him until the police arrived.
“Initial investigations revealed that the 41-year-old’s motive was that his wife had separated from him,” the police said. The man had already been reported for threats and damage to property. He is currently not commenting on the allegations. The investigators are asking people who may have recorded additional videos of the event to make them available.
The man is said to have driven a van into two stores on Saturday afternoon and then threatened people with stabbing weapons. According to police information, it is an Essene with Syrian citizenship. He specifically drove to apartments and shops in Essen where people who supported his wife lived.
People in fear of death
In the fires he set, two small children were critically injured by inhaling smoke. The police spokesman could not say whether the two children’s lives were still in danger. They are treated in special clinics. In total there were 31 injured.
The fires broke out in two apartment buildings on Saturday afternoon in the Altenessen and Stoppenberg districts. Shortly afterwards, the stairwells were no longer passable, so the residents were trapped. Neighbors put construction ladders against the wall, but they weren’t high enough. “But that meant that when we arrived there were already people hanging on the windows, keeping the children out,” said a fire department spokesman. The situation was “dramatic”. All residents were then brought to safety by the fire department.
At the peak, around 160 emergency services were involved. Two large fires that have to be fought in parallel are also a challenge for a large city like Essen, said the fire department spokesman. The operation lasted about an hour and a half.
