Overview

• A 35-year-old Syrian asylum recipient, Mahmoud M., is accused of attacking a group celebrating outside a Bielefeld bar with a knife and a spear-like weapon, injuring five people, including four with confirmed stab wounds.
• The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has taken over the investigation, citing suspicions of an Islamist-inspired attack targeting Germany’s democratic order.
• Investigators discovered a note in the suspect’s residence linking him to individuals in the Westphalian Islamist scene; forensic and digital evidence is being analyzed.
• The suspect, who fled the scene, was apprehended on Monday evening in Heiligenhaus near Düsseldorf and is now in pretrial detention on charges of attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm.
• Victims, who were part of a group celebrating Arminia Bielefeld’s football championship, remain hospitalized, with federal authorities emphasizing the potential threat to public safety.