Munich suspect confessed to deliberately ramming his car into crowd

MUNICH – The 24-year-old suspect in Thursday’s vehicle attack in Munich confessed to intentionally crashing his car into a trade union rally, and investigators believe he acted out of an “Islamist motive,” a senior Munich public prosecutor said on Friday.

The suspect, an Afghan citizen, admitted during questioning to intentionally accelerating into the march, said Gabriele Tilmann, the chief public prosecutor for Munich’s Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism (ZET).

During questioning, the man “cited a motivation that I would describe as a religious motivation,” said Tilmann, although she declined to reveal any details of his comments to investigators.

She said that the investigation so far has not uncovered any sign that he had any connection to known Islamist extremist groups. She emphasized that the investigation remains in its early stages, but as things stand at present, she was confident in assuming an Islamist background to the attack.

A preliminary search of his phone and social media accounts showed he was openly religious, she said. He was particularly active on Instagram, where he posted about bodybuilding and athletics.

Tilmann also cited the testimony of police officers that the driver had shouted “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is greatest” in Arabic, after the attack as evidence of a possible Islamist motive.

He was religious, prayed and regularly went to a Munich mosque which is not known for a radical or hard-line Islamist stance, according to the public prosecutor’s office.

At least 36 people were injured in the attack, a senior Munich police official said at the Friday press conference. Two of the injured remain in life-threatening condition, including a young child.

A 2-year-old girl being treated at the Hauner Children’s Hospital in Munich was in a critical condition in intensive care, a hospital spokesman had previously said. The oldest known victim is 60 years old, although authorities said more people injured in the attack might still come forward.

The suspect is currently being investigated for 36 counts of attempted murder, Tilmann said. An investigating judge will decide whether to remand him in custody on Friday afternoon.

When the suspect was arrested, a police officer also fired a shot at his car.

“However, the perpetrator was not hit and was not injured by the shot,” a police official said. The officers managed to pull the man out of the car, although he tried to accelerate again.

Contrary to claims made by Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann on Thursday, authorities made clear on Friday that the suspect was in Germany on a valid residence permit and did not have any previous criminal charges.

He arrived as a teenager in Germany in 2016 after briefly spending time in Italy. His asylum application rejected by German authorities, but he was subsequently issued a residency and work permit, Munich police and prosecutors said on Friday.

He was employed as in retail security until recently, and had been repeatedly cited as a witness in shoplifting cases on behalf of the store, and had also initiated proceedings against suspected shoplifters, according to police.

Herrmann said that the young man attended school, completed vocational training and had worked as a store detective for two security companies.

“As far as we know at present, the perpetrator’s residence was therefore absolutely legal,” said Herrmann.

Tilmann said he once failed to promptly report starting a new job to employment authorities who were handling his unemployment benefit claims, and so was briefly investigated for employment office fraud, but the proceedings were quickly dropped after he agreed to make payment.

She also said there are no initial indications that the perpetrator is mentally ill or that mental problems contributed to the crime.

The Mini Cooper that he used in the attack belonged to him, said Guido Limmer, the vice president of the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office.

Munich authorities also vowed to further increase already tight security around the Munich Security Conference, a major gathering of global leaders and foreign policy experts at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in central Munich which began on Friday.

The “deployment of forces” will be “increased” during the Munich Security Conference, which runs until Sunday, said Munich Police Vice President Christian Huber.

Police have also contacted organizers of scheduled protests around the conference to consider changing plans from marches to stationary rallies, since those are easier for police to secure and patrol, Huber said.