Man on trial over deadly ‘Islamist’ knife attack in Hamburg supermarket

From the German edition of The Local

A 26-year-old Palestinian man goes on trial in a German court on Friday over his deadly knife rampage in a Hamburg supermarket that prosecutors believe was an Islamist attack. Ahmad Alhaw took a 20-centimetre (eight-inch) knife from the shelves of a supermarket last July, using it to kill one and wound six in the assault. He was arrested after passers-by overpowered him.

Charging him with murder, as well as six counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, prosecutors said he acted with a likely Islamist motive.

“The results of the investigation show that the accused sought out his victims indiscriminately, retaliating against people, who in his view represent perpetrators of injustice targeting Muslims,” said prosecutors. “It was important to him to kill as many German nationals of the Christian faith as possible. He wanted his actions to be viewed in the context of an Islamist attack, and understood as a contribution to jihad worldwide,”

Investigators, however, did not find any evidence to suggest that Alhaw was a member of the Islamic State (IS) group.