An Afghan bodybuilder with thousands of online supporters has deliberately admitted to an audience in Munich, prosecutors said on Friday what the authorities believe was an attack motivated by Islamic extremism.
Two people, a 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter died after they suffered serious injuries when a mini Cooper was hit into a group of union members at Seidlstrasse around 10 pm. 10:30 pm.
At least 34 others were injured wounded in the attack.
“He has admitted that he consciously drove into the participants in the demonstration,” prosecutor Gabriele told Tilmann to a news conference. “I am very careful about making hasty judgments, but based on everything we know at the moment, I would dare to talk about an Islamist motivation for the crime,” she added.
Anti-terror police in Germany is investigating the incident and the suspect has been named as Farhad Noori of the Munich prosecutor’s office.
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The 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker was arrested by police shortly after the incident, which took place a mile away from the place where the Munich Security Conference is held on Friday. US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky arrived in the city the same day as the attack, although at this time the authorities do not believe there is a connection.
Here’s all we know about the person suspected of being behind the Munich car attack so far.
Who is the suspect?
Farhad Noori, born in Kabul in 2001, first arrived in Germany from Afghanistan in late 2016, according to There Spiegel.
The federal office of migration and refugees allegedly rejected his asylum application.
Bavaries Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann confirmed that he had arrived in the country as an asylum seeker and added that his application had “probably” been rejected, Die Zeit reported. But Mr Herrman added that the suspect could not be deported due to security concerns in Afghanistan and that he was therefore allowed to continue to stay in Germany.
Noori lived in Munich and had a valid residence permit, it has now arrived.
The 24 -year -old accounts on social media – which had tens of thousands of supporters, but have now been taken down – showed an avid bodybuilder who seems to dedicate much of his life to weightlifting.
Noori competed in the German amateur bodybuilding championship, and in October fifth came in a competition in the category ‘Men’s Physique’, There Spiegel reported.
A young man from southern Germany who met Noori at a bodybuilding championship, said to the business, “He started big, became more famous. He was good at it. His form got better and better.”
He painted a picture of a normal young man who loved his sport. “We chatted, he was really nice and open. There was nothing weird, ”he said.
Tip about an ‘extremist’ background
Munich Prosecutor’s Office told Die Zeit That at least there were “indications of an extremist background”.
Prime Minister Georg Eisenreich confirmed that the Bavarian Central Office of Combating Extremism and Terrorism had taken control of the investigation of the attack.
According to There Spiegel, Noori published Islamist posts on social media before they allegedly performed the crime. In a post from a few days ago, Noori reportedly wrote: “Drydd all those who are bad for Islam.”
Without explicitly naming the striker at the press conference on Friday morning, the German police said the suspect “gave an explanation that I would summarize as religious motivation” when asked about the attack. “According to everything we know at the moment, I would venture to talk about an Islamist motivation,” prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann said.
Police do not currently believe that the victims – protesters associated with the Verdi subject association – were targeted specifically.
“Currently, we actually assume that the target audience here that the victims of the ranks of this Verdi demonstration were more a coincidence,” Herrman told journalists according to Die Zeit. “But of course it has to be examined as well.”
Police correct claim that he was known to them
Shortly after the incident, the Bavarian Interior Minister claimed that Noori had been caught with drugs and store lifts and was already known for the Munich police.
But later on Thursday, police said Noori was only a witness to the crimes because of a previous job as a store detective.
Investigators continue to investigate his background as they try to establish any potential motive, and allegedly attacked his apartment in an exclusive area of Munich.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on the perpetrator of the attack to leave the country.
“This perpetrator cannot hope for any relief. He has to be punished and he has to leave the country,” said Mr Scholz.
“If it was an attack, we must take consistent action against possible perpetrators with all the righteousness,” he added.
Was anyone else involved?
Police said Friday that there is nothing suggested that any accomplice were involved in the attack. But they are investigating if anyone else knew about it.
Speculations about accomplices appeared after an eyewitness allegedly told Bild Shortly after the crash, two people were seen in the Mini. Only one man was detained on stage.
In a post on X on Thursday, the Munich police said they couldn’t confirm if more than one person was involved.
“As a reported, the person who is secured is the driver of the car,” police said. “There is speculation about other people involved. Based on our current knowledge we cannot confirm this. “