Germany: Apartment blast near Düsseldorf 'targeted attack'

Following reports of an explosion in a high-rise building in Germany on Thursday, police said on Friday that officers and rescue services on the scene had been attacked with a burning liquid.

Investigators said that a 57-year-old man, who was arrested on Thursday, intentionally threw the substance at officers who were responding to calls of an individual in distress.

Police said on Friday that the liquid appeared to have been petrol, perhaps mixed with something else. They said he had set fire to a container holding the liquid, before throwing it towards the police and firefighters at the door.

Initial reports had described an explosion going off as emergency services opened the door to the apartment in the high-rise residential building in Ratingen, a town close to the major city of Düsseldorf in western Germany.

Local police chief Dietmar Henning said that five people were left with life-threatening injuries, with another four fire officers suffering serious wounds. Some 22 others came away lightly injured.

Five individuals were put into an artificial coma, with some having suffered serious burns.

What we know so far

Emergency services arrived on the scene after neighbors called in to say that a woman's post box had not been emptied for a while and expressed concerns over her well-being.

The man believed to be behind the explosion is also believed to be the woman's son.

What had initially been a routine check, then escalated with dozens of ambulances, police vehicles and fire trucks deployed to the scene.

Snipers were also sent to rooftops as a safety measure.

Police also found a body of an older woman in the apartment who police said had likely died several weeks ago. Investigators are still looking into whether the body was that of the suspect's mother.

Public broadcasters ZDF and WDR reported on Friday that a second body was also found. This second person reportedly died during the police operation as they were in need of hourly care which they did not receive during that time.

What do we know about the suspect?

The public prosecutor's office announced on Friday that an arrest warrant for the suspect had been issued for nine counts of attempted murder.

Although he had previously been known to the police, it had not been for violent offenses. Laura Neumann, a spokesperson for the public prosecutor's office, said that a warrant had been issued for an unpaid sum, but it was "nothing relevant, nothing comparable."

Police said that they found several weapons while searching the apartment on Friday, including a gas pistol and a number of knives and daggers.

The motivation for the attack was still unclear, but investigators said the suspect appeared to belong to the so-called "prepper" scene — a community that prepares for coming disasters, often with connections to far-right ideologies — with police saying that he seemed to have stockpiled supplies in the apartment.

Heike Schultz of the Düsseldorf police said: "We have indications that he is also a coronavirus denier, concrete indications of that."

The suspect had been provided a public defender after waiving his right to legal assistance.

ab/wd (AFP, dpa)