Only last night did it become known that late Saturday afternoon Shadi A. A 41-year-old man of Syrian origin perpetrated an attack in the western German city of Essen, injuring 31 people, including eight children. Two of these, aged only 2 and 4, are in very critical condition. Video images of the moment show the man, dressed in a keffiyeh, armed with a long machete. After setting fire to a residential building, he got into a gray Opel van, drove a few hundred meters and set fire to another building. In a video, shot before the arrival of the police and firefighters, local people can be seen desperately trying to save the inhabitants of the burned structures, using ladders that were too short to reach the upper floors. The parents, desperate and panicked, tried to save their children by pulling them out of the windows.
After about ten minutes, the suspect returned to the van, drove a short distance and threw himself into the windows of two stores. Then he got out of the vehicle and grabbed the machete again, trying to threaten those present, but the crowd kept their distance by throwing objects at him and using iron bars and sticks to defend themselves. The police managed to capture him, but have not yet provided clear details about the motive for the attack. One of the investigative hypotheses claims that the man was furious at the separation from his wife, but this does not fully explain the involvement of a second building and the incidents in the shops, nor the use of a machete. Some media have suggested that it could be a terrorist attack, highlighting the detail of the keffiyeh worn by the man.
Two helicopters transferred the injured, including five in serious condition, to a nearby hospital. In both cases, the attacker reportedly used gas canisters to start the fires, stranding residents in the upper floors of the burning structures. Despite the severity of the attack, which endangered the lives of many, including two young children, German media gave limited coverage to the episode, focusing instead on other news, such as reactions to the killing of Hassan Nasrallah . Some commentators argue that the media tried to avoid highlighting the fact that the attacker was yet another Syrian citizen.
This episode fits into a broader context of attacks against German citizens by Muslim immigrants, which have already caused the death of four people, including a policeman. These events led the German authorities to strengthen security measures against Islamist terrorism and to intensify border controls. The growing violence by immigrants has contributed to strengthening support for far-right parties, as demonstrated by the recent election results in three federal states and the polls ahead of the next federal elections. Same dynamics in Austria where widespread discontent over migration policies and security concerns allowed the far right to win victory in Sunday’s legislative elections for the first time in the history of contemporary Austria. With almost all ballots counted, the Freedom Party, known by its acronym FPÖ, triumphed with 28.8% of the vote, marking a notable increase of 13 points compared to the 2019 elections. The conservative ÖVP party, led by Chancellor Karl Nehammer, placed second, three points behind and recording a significant loss of 11.2 points.
@reproduction reserved
