Arrest in D

Apparent attack on asylum accommodation thwarted

Apparently, an anonymous tip-off has prevented an attack on a shelter for asylum seekers in eastern Germany.

According to investigators, a 21-year-old German is said to have equipped himself with explosives and various weapons for an attack on an asylum shelter in Senftenberg (Brandenburg). He has been provisionally arrested and is to be brought before a judge.

Following an anonymous tip-off, two properties in the district of Meißen (Saxony) were searched, as the Dresden public prosecutor's office announced on Thursday. During the searches, explosives in the form of two ball bombs were found, as well as brass knuckles, one-handed knives, ammunition and alarm guns and soft air weapons.

Traces in the right-wing extremist scene?
It is not yet possible to say to what extent the accused is involved in the right-wing extremist scene. This is the subject of the ongoing investigation, said public prosecutor Patrick Pintaske when asked. The same applies to the exact explosive power of the ball bombs. They were industrially manufactured pyrotechnics of category F4, he said.

Nevertheless, Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) stated: "The case shows how important it is to keep up the pressure to prosecute the right-wing extremist scene. Brandenburg's Interior Minister Katrin Lange (SPD) expressed her relief. "In this case, the successful work of the security authorities apparently prevented worse things from happening in time," Lange said in response to an inquiry.