A Syrian man whose asylum request had been denied by German officials used an explosives-laden backpack to kill himself and wound 12 other people near a concert in southern Germany. Police are still trying to unravel the motives for the 27-year-old’s action.
From Berlin, NPR’s Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports:
“The Syrian bomber lived in the Bavarian town of Ansbach, where he carried out the attack. He had been rejected for asylum and had only temporary permission to stay in Germany. Police say he was under psychiatric care and had tried to kill himself twice before.
“Late on Sunday night, he tried entering a music festival in Ansbach that was attended by 2,500 people, but he was turned away because he didn’t have a ticket. He detonated his backpack a short distance away in front of a wine bar.”
The Syrian man was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria, reports Deutsche Welle, citing a spokesman for Germany’s interior ministry. The German newspaper adds that the ministry spokesman noted that refugees from Syria can’t be returned directly to their home country because of the widespread violence there.
The bombing comes days after a teenager who lived in Munich (roughly 120 miles south of Ansbach) went on a shooting rampage that killed at least 10 people and left dozens injured. In that attack, the 18-year-old high school student was found to have collected stories and details about mass shootings.
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