Investigators assume random victims in gym attack

The attack in a gym in Duisburg appears to have been an amok act. The alleged perpetrator did not know his victims. So far he has been silent.

A police officer at the scene of the crime: an attacker is said to have injured four men in a gym in Duisburg. Oliver Berg/dpa

In the bloody attack in a Duisburg gym with four serious injuries, the public prosecutor sees signs of an amok attack. “We tend to assume that all four are accidental victims,” ​​prosecutor Jill McCuller told the German Press Agency on Tuesday. This results in particular from information provided by the injured party, according to which none of them knew the alleged perpetrator. At first it was assumed that the attack was aimed at one person.

“Amok sounds so bad. Ultimately, that’s what it is, the random selection of victims without specific reasons,” said the prosecutor. The news magazine Der Spiegel had previously reported that there were now some indications of an amok attack.

After the attack on Tuesday evening last week, a 26-year-old Syrian suspect is in custody. The charges are attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. In the attack, the suspect is said to have seriously injured four people with a knife. The accused has so far made use of his right to refuse to give evidence and has not accepted the allegations, the prosecutor said.