2016 Reutlingen knife attack

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = Reutlingen knife attack

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| image = Reutlingen 04 (RaBoe).jpg

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| caption = A street in Reutlingen

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| location = Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

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| date = {{start date|2016|07|24|df=yes}}

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| type = Mass stabbing

| fatalities = 1

| injuries = 3 (including the attacker)

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| perp = A Syrian asylum-seeker

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| weapons = Döner knife[http://www.gea.de/region+reutlingen/reutlingen/tatwaffe+von+reutlingen+war+ein+doenermesser.4916852.htm "Tatwaffe von Reutlingen war ein Dönermesser", by Deutsche Presse-Agentur, via Reutlinger General-Anzeiger]

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On 24 July 2016, a Syrian asylum seeker armed with a döner knife, attacked his girlfriend and bystanders in Reutlingen, Germany, killing his girlfriend, a Polish woman, and wounding two other people in the forearm and head, before being struck accidentally by a car and arrested by police.{{cite news|first1=Darko|last1=Janjevic|title=Police arrest Syrian man after woman killed in knife attack in Germany|url=http://www.dw.com/en/police-arrest-syrian-man-after-woman-killed-in-knife-attack-in-germany/a-19424224|access-date=25 July 2016|date=25 July 2016|work=Deutsche Welle|quote=An attacker has allegedly killed one woman and injured five in the city of Reutlingen in southwest Germany, according to local police.}}

Attack

The attack took place around 16:30 CEST (14:30 UTC) by a kebab shop where the perpetrator, a 21-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker, and his 45-year old victim both worked, and from where he retrieved the weapon.{{cite news|last1=Weise|first1=Zia|title=Germany machete attack: Syrian asylum seeker murders 'pregnant' woman in Reutlingen|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/24/syrian-refugee-kills-woman-with-machete-in-southern-germany/|access-date=25 July 2016|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=24 July 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Mayjeyes|first1=Toby|title=Woman killed and two injured in machete attack in Germany|url=http://metro.co.uk/2016/07/24/one-dead-two-injured-in-machete-attack-in-germany-6026100/|access-date=25 July 2016|publisher=Metro (British newspaper)|date=24 July 2016}}{{cite news|title=Germany machete attack: Syria migrant kills woman

|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36879196|access-date=26 July 2016|issue=25 July 2016|publisher=BBC}}

The attacker and the victim had an argument before the attack. The attacker then killed her with the weapon he retrieved from the shop and also injured another woman and a man. He was subdued by the police after he was accidentally hit by a car whose driver was distracted by the surrounding commotion.{{cite news|url=http://www.tagblatt.de/Nachrichten/Der-Taeter-hat-bei-der-Polizei-erste-Aussagen-gemacht-Verdacht-auf-psychische-Probleme-296837.html |title=Der Täter hat bei der Polizei erste Aussagen gemacht / Verdacht auf psychische Probleme |publisher=tagblatt.de |date=25 July 2016 |access-date=8 December 2016}}{{cite news | url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article157292032/Polizisten-mussten-den-Taeter-von-Reutlingen-beschuetzen.html | title=Reutlingen: Die Polizei musste den Täter nach dem Angriff beschützen - WELT | publisher=welt.de | date=25 July 2016 |access-date=8 December 2016}}

The Polish embassy confirmed that the victim, was Polish and claimed she was pregnant.{{cite news|title=Man with machete kills woman in southern Germany|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/24/man-with-machete-kills-woman-in-southern-germany|access-date=25 July 2016|work=The Guardian|date=24 July 2016}} Police are investigating under the assumption that it was a personal quarrel between the assailant and the dead woman.{{cite news|title=One dead, three injured in machete attack in German city of Reutlingen, police say|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-25/one-dead-three-injured-in-germany-machete-attack-police-say/7656678|work=ABC News|date=25 July 2016}}

Perpetrator

The assailant was identified as a 21-year-old asylum seeker from Syria who had migrated to Germany about one-and-a-half years before the attack. He worked at the same Turkish kebab shop where the pregnant victim worked.{{cite news|last1=Eddy|first1=Melissa|title=Syrian Refugee Arrested in Germany After Fatal Machete Attack|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/world/europe/syrian-refugee-arrested-in-germany-after-fatal-machete-attack.html|access-date=25 July 2016|work=The New York Times|date=24 July 2016}} He was known to police and was previously arrested for causing bodily harm.{{cite news|title=Germany: Syrian arrested after deadly machete attack|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/germany-syrian-arrested-deadly-machete-attack-160724163220465.html|access-date=25 July 2016|agency=Reuters|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=25 July 2016}} He had lived in a home in the town for seven months. One of his former roommates identified his first name as Mohamed and described him as an alcoholic who was feared by his other roommates. He also said that the attacker was in a relationship with the victim and both had previously lived together in a refugee camp.{{cite web|url=http://www.bild.de/regional/stuttgart/reutlingen/held-von-reutlingen-46978354.bild.html|title=Er stoppte den Macheten-Mann {{!}} Das ist der Held von Reutlingen|trans-title=He stopped the machete man {{!}} This is the hero of Reutlingen|work=Bild|date=25 July 2016|access-date=26 July 2016}}

Trial and sentencing

In April 2017, the perpetrator was tried and sentenced to life in prison.{{cite news|title=German court sentences 'kebab shop murderer' to life|url=http://www.dw.com/en/german-court-sentences-kebab-shop-murderer-to-life/a-38347519|access-date=19 April 2017|publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=7 April 2017}}{{cite news|title=German court sentences Syrian to life for killing girlfriend|url=http://www.india.com/news/agencies/german-court-sentences-syrian-to-life-for-killing-girlfriend-2006321/|access-date=19 April 2017|agency=AP|publisher=India.com|date=7 April 2017}}

Impact

This attack, one of four violent crimes, including the Ansbach bombing, committed by people of Middle Eastern background during the week of 18 July 2016 – three of them committed by asylum seekers – created significant political pressure for changes in the German government policy of welcoming refugees.{{cite news|last1=Hooper|first1=Melissa|title=Recent attacks underscore need to rethink refugee resettlement|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/homeland-security/313601-recent-attacks-underscore-need-to-rethink-refugee/|access-date=2 March 2017|work=The Hill|date=10 January 2017}} According to The Washington Times, the attacks increased public fears that Islamist terrorist attacks of the kind that took place in France in 2015 and 2016 could happen in Germany.{{cite news|last1=Costello|first1=Patrick|title=Terror attacks shake German citizenry anxious about open-door immigration policy|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/25/germany-terror-attacks-shake-citizenry-anxious-abo/|access-date=26 July 2016|publisher=The Washington Times|date=25 July 2016}} Florian Otto, a risk consultant from Maplecroft, said the attacks are likely to inflame anti-immigration sentiment in the country, creating a challenge for the Merkel government's policies.{{cite news|title=German Refugee Policy Under Fire After a Week of Bloodshed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/07/25/world/europe/ap-eu-germany-merkels-migrant-troubles.html|access-date=25 July 2016|agency=AP|work=New York Times|date=25 July 2016}}

In March 2017, Kenan Malik described the attack in the Guardian pointing up "the difficulty... in drawing a distinction between jihadi violence and the fury of disturbed minds."{{cite news|last1=Malik|first1=Kenan|title=How can we distinguish violence driven by ideology from sociopathic rage?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/26/distinguish-violence-driven-by-ideology-from-sociopathic-rage|access-date=23 April 2017|work=The Guardian|date=25 March 2017}}