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Germany: 'Functional' grenade found in Frankfurt subway

November 1, 2023

Police have said a hand grenade discovered at a central Frankfurt subway station was "functional," but it is not believed an attack was imminent. A suspect seen in CCTV footage has yet to be identified.

https://p.dw.com/p/4YHxo
A view of Frankfurt Hauptwache U-Bahn station
The grenade is believed to have been a Yugoslavian model capable of killing within a 20 meter radiusImage: Andreas Arnold/dpa/picture alliance

A hand grenade that was found in the bowels of an inner city Frankfurt train station has been "secured" after police confirmed Wednesday that it contained live explosives.

Passers-by alerted the police to a suspicious object located in the lower level of the Hauptwache station on Tuesday, prompting a swift investigation.

"The investigations have shown that there was an explosive device in the hand grenade — thus the device was functional," a police spokesperson said.

He stressed, however, that the weapon was secure and not an imminent threat to the public, confirming "the pin was still inside."

According to German tabloid Bild, the grenade was a Yugoslavian-made model, specifically, an M52, capable of killing within a 20 meter radius.

CCTV shows 'suspicious' person 

Footage from CCTV shows a masked man in the early hours of the morning lurking in the basement levels of the station before abandoning the grenade close to a shopping arcade.

CCTV footage of the masked man who police believe was responsible for leaving a live hand grenade under a Frankfurt station.
The man police believe was responsible for leaving a live hand grenade at a Frankfurt stationImage: Polizei Frankfurt

"It shows that at about 4:18 a.m. an unknown male person was acting suspiciously in the B and C level of the main station," police said.

They added that a short time later, the unidentified man was seen placing the grenade on the B level before taking off on foot in the direction of Eschenheimer Tor.

Police have appealed for information, including via social media, but are yet to apprehend the suspect or determine his motivation.

"We have received some tips, we are now following them up," police said.

It's not the first time Frankfurt's train stations have been a crime scene.

In 2021, several people were injured when a man went on a stabbing spree near the city's central station.

In 2019, a bank robbery in the vicinity of Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof saw the station closed, and in the same year a man pushed a woman and her 8-year-old son in front of a train, killing the boy.

mds/wmr (dpa, AFP)

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