Trial in Ulm: Eritrean Admits to Knife Attack at MediaMarkt
A 30-year-old man from Eritrea has confessed in court to a knife attack on a MediaMarkt employee in Ulm. The sales assistant was injured with life-threatening wounds.
Attack with Ten Injured — Defendant Makes Full Confession
A trial began on Tuesday at the Ulm regional court against a 30-year-old man from Eritrea, who is accused of attempted murder. According to swr.de, the defendant has confessed fully to the acts. His defence counsel Thorsten Storp read out a written statement from the man at the start of proceedings.
The attack took place in mid-January at the electronics specialist store in Ulm. The 30-year-old entered the shop, drew a knife and stabbed a 25-year-old sales assistant from behind without warning. The victim sustained life-threatening injuries and lay in a coma for twelve days following the attack. Two further employees who rushed to aid their injured colleague were also injured. In total, ten people were harmed.
Following the attack, the man surrendered to police on the street outside the store. He attacked the officers with a knife. The police officers opened fire and injured the 30-year-old severely.
According to defence counsel Storp, his client cannot subsequently explain to himself why this outburst of aggression occurred. The defendant is ashamed of the act. Storp told the SWR: "What is alarming, which my client said, and he was completely right about this, is that someone who is in full possession of their mental faculties would commit such an act."
The 25-year-old sales assistant, who was attacked from behind, was a co-plaintiff in the trial. According to current findings, the victim and defendant did not know each other. The lawyer for the victim, Catharina Müller, stated that the young man is doing better now, but has not yet fully recovered. The closer the trial has approached, the worse the victim has been doing. The injured employee is undergoing a reintegration measure, though not at his previous workplace. Customer contact is no longer possible for him; he is now being deployed in another area of the store.
The co-plaintiff's lawyer stated: "For the young man — and he is completely right about this — it is alarming and incomprehensible that someone in full possession of their mental faculties would commit such an act." It remains a "huge question mark".
The defendant is a rejected asylum seeker from Eritrea who has already spent over four years in custody during various periods. He was actually subject to deportation but could not be deported due to passport problems. A few weeks before the knife attack, he had been released from a custodial institution.
According to the prosecution, the attack was recorded by the MediaMarkt's surveillance camera. The footage could be used as evidence in court.
The effects of the attack are still felt at the MediaMarkt in Ulm today. A company communications employee stated that there is probably no one in the store who has been unaffected by the act. The company is providing all employees with support and counselling options, which according to the company are being taken up.
According to current plans, the trial will comprise a further five hearing days until mid-August. The court must first decide on the question of criminal responsibility.
Source: Die Zeit Kriminalität