2018 Hamburg stabbing attack
{{Short description|Double murder in Hamburg, Germany}}
The 2018 Hamburg stabbing attack was an attack on 12 April 2018 in the city of Hamburg, Germany. A man from Niger stabbed his ex-wife and his one-year-old daughter on a station platform.[https://archive.today/20180416010845/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/2-dead-in-stabbing-at-hamburg-subway-station/2018/04/12/198b3b48-3e41-11e8-955b-7d2e19b79966_story.html?noredirect=on Woman, child dead in stabbing at German subway station], Washington Post[https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/04/12/world/europe/ap-eu-germany-stabbing.html Woman, Child Dead in Stabbing at German Subway Station], New York Times[https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/Kvqew6/barn-och-kvinna-knivhoggs-till-dods-i-hamburg Barn och kvinna knivhöggs till döds i Hamburg], Aftonbladet.se[https://tribune.com.pk/story/1684033/3-knife-man-kills-baby-ex-wife-german-train-station/ Knife man kills baby, ex-wife in German train station], Tribune.com.pk{{Cite news|url=http://www.20min.ch/ro/news/monde/story/Il-tue-son-ex-et-sa-fille-d-un-an-dans-une-gare-16893868|title=Il tue son ex et sa fille d'un an dans une gare|date=12 April 2018|work=20 Minutes|access-date=2018-11-09|language=fr-CH}} Both victims died. The perpetrator had arrived in 2013 via Lampedusa, seeking asylum in Germany and was granted a residence permit. He lost a custody dispute days before the incident. If he had won, authorities might have permitted him to remain in Germany.
Attack
On the morning of 12 April 2018, the victims and the suspect met at the Stadthausbrücke station.{{Cite news|url=https://www.tag24.de/nachrichten/todesdrama-jungfernstieg-hamburg-staatsanwaltschaft-gibt-details-bekannt-581654|title=Todesdrama am Jungfernstieg: Staatsanwaltschaft gibt Details bekannt|work=TAG24|access-date=2018-11-09|language=de}} The assailant, Mourtala Madou, an asylum seeker from Niger, stabbed his ex-wife, identified as Sandra P.,{{cite news|last1=ALEXANDER KISSLER|title=Hamburg double murder - Deadly denial of reality|url=https://www.cicero.de/innenpolitik/hamburg-doppelmord-asylbewerber-kirchenasyl-gruene|accessdate=17 April 2018|work=Cicero|date=16 April 2018|language=German|quote=The one-year-old child's throat was cut by his father after stabbing Sandra P. in front of her new friend at Jungfernstieg station}} and their one-year-old daughter in the Jungfernstieg station of Hamburg S-Bahn near the Hamburg Rathaus and the mall of Europa Passage. The child died at the scene; the mother was taken to hospital, but died there later. One of the woman's children was also present.[https://www.welt.de/regionales/hamburg/article175440830/Bluttat-vom-Jungfernstieg-Das-Attentat-ist-ein-persoenliches-Drama.html „Das Attentat ist ein persönliches Drama“], Die Welt Several eyewitnesses were treated as well. The suspect called the police after the fact and was detained subsequently.{{Cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/hamburg-jungfernstieg-sorgerechtsstreit-um-einjaehrige-a-1202714.html|title=Tödliche Messerattacke in Hamburg: Angreifer handelte aus "Wut und Rache"|last=Fokken|first=Silke|date=2018-04-13|work=Spiegel Online|access-date=2018-11-09|last2=Ziegler|first2=Jean-Pierre}}[http://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/messerattacke-mitten-in-hamburg-mitten-am-tag-1.3941654 Mitten in Hamburg, mitten am Tag], Süddeutsche Zeitung According to prosecutors, the suspect acted out of outrage because a court had denied him custody of his children the day before the stabbing.{{cite news |title=Angreifer handelte aus "Wut und Rache" |url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/hamburg-jungfernstieg-sorgerechtsstreit-um-einjaehrige-a-1202714.html |accessdate=7 November 2018 |publisher=Spiegel |date=13 April 2018}}
In May 2018, authorities released information indicating that the child had not been beheaded. Although the stab wound to the neck was lethal, the cause of death was another stab wound.{{Cite news|url=https://www.focus.de/regional/hamburg/kriminalitaet-messerangriff-am-jungfernstieg-ausschuss-sucht-antworten_id_8928813.html|title=Hamburg: Messerangriff am Jungfernstieg: Neue Details bekannt|work=FOCUS Online|access-date=2018-11-09|language=de}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/id_83772260/messerangriff-am-jungfernstieg-neue-details-bekannt.html|title=Messerangriff am Jungfernstieg: Neue Details bekannt|work=www.t-online.de|access-date=2018-11-09}}
Suspect and motive
According to the prosecutor's office, the suspect acted in anger and revenge, because he had lost a custody dispute days before. If he had won, he might have been allowed to stay in Germany. He had been threatening the woman for some time, and she had made a complaint to the police. He was taken into custody and is charged with two counts of murder. The mother had four more children, who were taken into the care of the children's emergency service following their mother's death.
The suspect belonged to what is known in Hamburg as the "Lampedusa group", who came to the city via Italy in 2013, and had been granted a residence permit.[https://www.merkur.de/welt/messerattacke-in-hamburg-vater-beim-haftrichter-zr-9776251.html In Hamburg erstochene Mutter wurde von Ex-Partner bedroht], Merkur.de and he was later residing in the public refugee housing in Wandsbek.{{cite news|last1=Thomas Hahn|title=The knife attack was preceded by a custody battle|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/hamburg-der-messerattacke-ging-ein-sorgerechtsstreit-voraus-1.3943239|accessdate=15 April 2018|work=Süddeutsche Zeitung|date=13 April 2018|quote=Mourtala M., 33 , painter assistant from Niger, residing in the public refugee housing in Wandsbek, stabbed the child}}
Trial
The trial started in the Hamburger Landgericht in October 2018, where the suspect was charged with double murder. The suspect confessed to the deed at the start of the trial.{{Cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/hamburg-messerangriff-am-jungfernstieg-angeklagter-gesteht-a-1231497.html|title=Messerangriff in Hamburg: Angeklagter gesteht Tötung von Ex-Partnerin und Tochter|date=2018-10-04|work=Spiegel Online|access-date=2018-11-09}}
Reactions
A spokesman for Hamburg police, Timo Zill, called the crime "substantial" and "unusual for Hamburg". Katharina Fegebank, Deputy Mayor of Hamburg stated that she was shocked about the crime: "If a child is stabbed by the hand which should protect it, this exceeds any imaginable cruelty."[https://www.welt.de/regionales/hamburg/article175407305/Messerattacke-am-Jungfernstieg-Vater-ersticht-Ex-Frau-und-Kind-offenbar-aus-Wut-und-Rache.html Vater ersticht Ex-Frau und Kind offenbar aus „Wut und Rache“], Die Welt
Many citizens of Hamburg brought flowers and candles and mourned at the place of the crime.[https://rtlnext.rtl.de/cms/nach-messerangriff-am-jungfernstieg-hamburg-nimmt-anteil-am-tod-einer-mutter-und-ihrer-tochter-4148560.html Nach Messerangriff am Jungfernstieg: Hamburg nimmt Anteil am Tod einer Mutter und ihrer Tochter], RTL
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamburg stabbing attack, 2018}}
Category:2018 murders in Germany
Category:April 2018 crimes in Europe
Category:April 2018 in Germany
Category:Deaths by stabbing in Germany
Category:Knife attacks in Germany
Category:Child murder in Germany
Category:Stabbing attacks in 2018
Category:Stabbing attacks in Germany