From the BZ editorial team
The attack on a mother (33) in a Berlin bus – it was presumably the young woman’s half-brother (41)! This was announced by the public prosecutor and the police on Friday afternoon. The suspect is in custody!
The 41-year-old was identified as part of the investigation, in particular through the evaluation of video recordings and interviews with witnesses.
Target investigators then found the suspect on Thursday evening at 11:40 p.m. on Luxemburger Strasse in the Berlin district of Wedding. He was then taken to the State Criminal Police Office, where an arrest warrant was issued against him.
It is also said that the accused has not yet commented on the allegation, so the motive for the bloody deed is still unclear.
The woman has not yet been heard. Police say her health is critical but stable. There is currently no longer any acute danger to life.
The knife attack
According to the police, the almost fatal knife attack occurred shortly after 5 p.m. in a BVG bus on line 327 in the direction of Schönholz. BZ reconstructs the bloody deed:
► At Leopoldplatz (Wedding), the Berliner gets on board with her two daughters, seven and nine years old. She has just picked up the children from a care facility, the three of them want to go home. The perpetrator is already on the bus.
► At Schulstrasse/Reinickendorfer Strasse (Gesundbrunnen) there was an abrupt attack. With his hooded jacket pulled over his head, the man pushes the two girls aside and stabs their mother.
He hits his unsuspecting victim a total of seven times. Knife wounds injure the mother’s heart, lungs and abdomen. Passengers rush to her aid. The stabber breaks off. He escapes from the bus at the Nauener Straße stop.
► Dozens of patrol cars race to the crime scene. Officials are searching the area. Emergency doctor and paramedic care for the life-threateningly injured 33-year-old. She is operated on in the Virchow Clinic. Relatives tell BZ the operation lasted ten hours until 4 a.m. The mother is being treated in intensive care. She is under police protection. According to her family, she is now out of danger and in stable condition. The two daughters are in the care of their family.
The first murder commission took over the investigation in the case. According to the police, the BVG bus was secured for an intensive search for clues. Recordings from the video surveillance in the bus are now also evaluated.