Attack in Park: Why was the Aschaffenburg suspect still free?

A violent and obviously mentally ill refugee who is forced to leave the country attacks a kindergarten group with a kitchen knife in a park in Aschaffenburg. He kills a small child and a passer-by who rushed to help, and injures other people, some seriously. Could this have been prevented?

In the middle of the federal election campaign, the CSU-led Bavarian state government is accusing the SPD-led federal government of lacking rigor in dealing with refugees who have entered the country illegally. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (both SPD) speak of a failure on the part of the Bavarian authorities to implement current law. But why was the man still in Germany and at large? The search for answers leads to many authorities.

Why wasn’t the suspect deported?

So far, Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann has primarily commented on this question. According to the CSU politician, the Afghan who entered Germany at the end of 2022 should actually have been deported to Bulgaria in 2023. The rules of the so-called Dublin procedure stipulate, among other things, that asylum procedures are generally processed where refugees set foot on EU soil for the first time.

But the deportation failed because the deadline had expired, says Herrmann. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) informed the Afghan about the ordered deportation even after his asylum application was rejected on June 19, 2023, but only informed the Bavarian immigration authorities on July 26 “due to whatever errors and problems.” – a few days before the legal deadline expires.

They are responsible for carrying out the deportation, but according to Herrmann, they knew about it too late due to the delay. The authorities “obviously” would no longer have been able to carry out a deportation to Bulgaria so quickly without preparation.

Government circles said that the Bamf had provisionally informed the Bavarian authorities about the transfer to Bulgaria at the same time as the Afghan. According to a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior, that was on June 19th. But it was only on July 26th that the immigration authorities were informed about the legal force of the decision – i.e. its incontestability. The six-month deadline for a transfer to Bulgaria expired on August 2nd, so Germany became responsible for the asylum procedure.

Why didn’t the man travel to Afghanistan himself?

According to Herrmann, the 28-year-old made this intention known to the authorities in December 2024 – also in writing. But he needed the appropriate valid papers to travel back to Afghanistan – and according to Herrmann, the man had probably not received them from the consulate general of his home country until the day of the attack in Aschaffenburg.

The Afghan was only obliged to leave because he had announced that he wanted to return to his homeland “as quickly as possible”. This ended the asylum procedure that was ongoing at the Bamf after the failed deportation. According to the Bavarian Interior Ministry, there was no deadline by which the man would have had to leave Germany voluntarily after his announcement.

According to its own information, the Central Immigration Office had allowed the man to stay for a longer period of time “and prepared for him to leave the country voluntarily.” The 28-year-old was “in constant contact with the responsible immigration authorities” until mid-January. Voluntary departure is always better than deportation, especially in countries like Afghanistan.

Was the 28-year-old known to the police and judiciary before the attack?

Yes – because of numerous incidents:

March 4, 2023: An incident occurs in a large initial reception center for refugees, as a result of which the Afghan receives a penalty order for bodily harm and a fine of 80 daily rates from the Schweinfurt district court.

September 10, 2023: In Frankfurt am Main, the man cannot produce any valid documents during a check. The investigation was discontinued because the repatriation process had already begun. According to an EU directive, this procedure has priority over a domestic criminal sanction for illegal stay. This was announced by the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office.

January 18, 2024: The man allegedly damaged a time recording system in a refugee accommodation. After he cannot be summoned to two court dates in 2024, the trial is scheduled for February 2025.

February 12, 2024: He is traveling on a train with a false ticket and therefore later receives a penalty order from the Aschaffenburg district court for attempted fraud and a further fine of 15 daily rates.

May 12, 2024: According to the Aschaffenburg public prosecutor’s office, he came to the federal police station in Aschaffenburg on that day – probably under the influence of cannabis – and stated that he needed help. But then, according to the information, “assaults against officers” allegedly occurred, in which three police officers were injured.

June 6, 2024: At the main train station in Aschaffenburg, the man completely undresses in front of two police officers on a platform and presumably damages a grit container.

August 2, 2024: The accused allegedly rioted in Alzenau near Aschaffenburg and damaged a car. When the police arrived, he repeatedly hit his head on the ground – and later allegedly kicked paramedics and police officers on the way to the clinic.

August 23, 2024: The man is accused of stealing a cell phone charging cable in Frankfurt am Main. The investigation into this has not yet been completed.

According to the public prosecutor’s office, he was temporarily placed in a psychiatric hospital by the police after both the incident in May 2024 and the one in August. Investigations into physical attacks and resistance against police officers, intentional bodily harm, insults and damage to property are still ongoing.

However, the Aschaffenburg public prosecutor’s office announced that the proceedings regarding the two cases have not yet been concluded. The investigators requested a psychiatric expert report. However, this order was initially suspended after it became clear that the man wanted to return to Afghanistan anyway.

As the Schweinfurt district court reported, the man was also placed in the Werneck district hospital by the police on January 18, 2024. In addition, the Aschaffenburg public prosecutor’s office is now investigating the statements of a witness that the man is said to have injured a resident of a refugee accommodation in Alzenau with a knife.

Why did he keep being released from the psychiatric hospital?

The public prosecutor’s office said that in none of the proceedings were the conditions for a criminal temporary placement in a psychiatric hospital met – not even for an arrest warrant.

There are also high legal hurdles for forced placement in a psychiatric hospital. If the person affected endangers themselves or other people through their behavior, it may only be ordered if the danger cannot be averted by less drastic means.

A milder remedy would be help from a crisis service or a legal guardian. The alleged attacker from Aschaffenburg had been ordered by the court to have such a guardian in December 2024 – but never contacted her. After the attack in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) announced that he wanted to “harden” the Bavarian Mental Health Assistance Act, which also regulates the conditions for accommodation.

Shouldn’t he have been in prison?

The suspect was actually supposed to be sent to prison for more than a month at the end of December 2024 – but according to the Schweinfurt public prosecutor’s office, he never received this substitute prison sentence. The reason for this is the legal rule that a court must impose a so-called total sentence for two different convictions under certain conditions, the public prosecutor’s office said. Only then will it be clear how long the convicted person will actually have to be in prison – or how much money he will have to pay.

The alleged attacker was sentenced to fines in two different courts. He didn’t pay the first fine, which is why he was supposed to serve a substitute prison sentence of 40 days on December 23, 2024 – but he didn’t.

In the meantime, the second verdict with a fine became final, said a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office. That is why the Schweinfurt district court first had to decide on an overall sentence – but this has not yet happened “due to, among other things, mandatory deliveries and translations”. The 28-year-old remained at large until January 22nd – which would have been the case given the legal proceedings if he had paid his fines as required.

What happens to the man now?

An investigating judge issued a detention order for the suspect after hearing from a psychiatric expert. The allegations so far are two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.

The suspect is now in a psychiatric facility. As a rule, a detention order is issued if there is evidence that a suspect was incapable of committing guilt or had reduced culpability at the time of the crime due to a mental illness.

If this turns out to be the case, a so-called security procedure in court is likely to follow. This involves the indefinite placement of an accused in a closed ward of a psychiatric hospital. Even if there are no charges as in a normal criminal case, such a case will be heard in court.