Published 29 September 2024 at 14.25
Foreign. Two serious arsons that injured at least 30 people and gave life-threatening injuries to two small children have occurred in the city of Essen in the German Ruhr area. According to the German Spiegel, it is a 41-year-old Syrian man who was on the move.
Share the article
TwittraShare
— It is terrible that innocent children were affected so badly, says Kufen to Spiegel.
The fires that occurred in the districts of Altenessen and Stoppenberg affected two apartment buildings.
The first fire started in the afternoon and spread quickly, leading to several residents being trapped in their apartments.
Many were forced to hang out of the windows and hold their children out in order to breathe and escape the smoke and flames.
The fire department quickly arrived on the scene and with the help of improvised ladders were able to save the residents.
A total of approximately 160 firefighters participated in the operation, which lasted approximately one and a half hours.
Eight children were seriously injured and two of them are being treated for life-threatening smoke inhalation.
p>
According to the police, a 41-year-old Syrian man is responsible for the fires. According to reports, the man is said to have threatened people with a weapon, possibly a machete, after driving into two shops with a delivery van in the district of Katernberg later in the day.
However, some Germans managed to make a deliberate intervention and overpower the Arab and detaining him at the scene until the police arrived.
The police believe that the perpetrator had personal motives, as his wife is said to have recently separated from him. The act must have been carried out with the aim of gaining access to a certain family with connections to the relationship history.
The prosecutor's office will apply for detention for aggravated arson and attempted murder.
The man has previously been reported for threats and vandalism, but he currently denies the charges, writes Spiegel.