New details have emerged about Mahmoud M., the Syrian asylum seeker arrested in connection with Sunday’s knife attack in Bielefeld, with investigators continuing to examine whether his actions were ideologically motivated.
After a day-long manhunt by the German authorities, the suspect — accused of indiscriminately stabbing several young people celebrating Arminia Bielefeld’s promotion to the 2. Bundesliga outside Cutie’s bar in the city — was arrested at an apartment in Heiligenhaus, around a two-hour drive away, believed to be occupied by a relative.
According to reporting from Welt, investigators found several items in the suspect’s accommodation that have raised suspicions. These include books on Islam, a photograph of a Hezbollah leader, and an image of Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Security services say the material does not amount to jihadist propaganda and does not point to a coherent extremist ideology.
In addition, police recovered a backpack near the scene of the crime containing several knives and a bottle filled with a gasoline-smelling liquid. The bag also included identity documents tying the suspect to the attack. Mahmoud M. had reportedly been living in an asylum center in Harsewinkel after arriving in Germany in 2023 and was granted subsidiary protection status last December. He is believed to have traveled through Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Czechia, where he first applied for asylum.
Security sources cited by Welt say the Syrian national had been in contact with a man from the Gütersloh area known to the authorities as an Islamist. The nature of their relationship is not yet clear. In the course of their investigation, officers also learned that Mahmoud M. had exchanged messages on TikTok with individuals in Syria, Iraq, and Egypt.
In Germany on Sunday…
A Kosovar national was arrested for a knife attack in Halle, injuring at least three people, including a 12-year-old girl.
Reports suggest he had taken issue with how loudly a group of children were playing outside his apartment bloc.
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A former roommate told Welt that Mahmoud “constantly talked about war, killing, political, and religious topics,” and that he regularly spoke to people he believed were affiliated with IS.
Despite this, authorities say no evidence has yet emerged of a planned terrorist operation or direct ties to an organized group. The suspect’s conduct before and after the attack has further complicated attempts to determine a motive. He reportedly traveled through several towns in North Rhine-Westphalia after the attack but did not commit further violence. Some witnesses said they heard him shout “Allahu akbar” during the stabbing, while others reported hearing no such utterance.
Officials also noted that the suspect appeared to have been intoxicated at the time of the attack, and psychological impairment has not been ruled out. A mobile phone that could shed more light on the case has not yet been found, leading investigators to speculate that Mahmoud M. may have discarded it to avoid detection.
“The indications of a possible religious-extremist background are obvious,” one security source told Welt, “but this was not someone with a clearly developed Islamist worldview.”
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