Attempted grievous bodily harm in Dortmund-Kirchlinde: Police seek "Ali the Albanian"
After a pub dispute in Dortmund, a man was left with life-threatening head injuries. Police are searching for the suspected perpetrator and have offered a 4,000 euro reward.
Blows following pub altercation: Severely injured victim, suspect at large
As reported by zdfheute.de, a man was left with life-threatening injuries following a dispute in a pub in Dortmund-Kirchlinde during the night of 5 November 2025. The unknown man, who identified himself as "Ali the Albanian", has not been identified to this day.
The incident occurred shortly before midnight on Kirchlinder Straße. In a pub there, a Dortmund resident and an unknown guest got into an argument about whether the Albanian people were older than the Celtic people. The landlady had initially managed with difficulty to prevent the increasingly aggressive unknown man from attacking the other guest. She ejected both men from the bar. The Dortmund resident left the pub first, followed shortly afterwards by the unknown man.
Only moments later, two witnesses noticed the Dortmund resident lying on the pavement opposite the newsagent next to the pub. The unknown man poured water in his face and said: "That's what you get for that, you dog!" He then left the scene. The witnesses alerted emergency services. The victim suffered life-threatening head injuries from which he has not fully recovered to this day.
Description of suspect
Camera footage shows the suspected perpetrator. He is approximately 30 to 35 years old, between 1.80 and 1.90 metres tall, and of a powerfully muscular build with a slight paunch. He has short dark hair and a short beard. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a light-coloured Stone Island sweatshirt, faded jeans, and a dark quilted jacket. The trainers are believed to be the Cloudtilt 2.0 model by Loewe x ON. On his right wrist he wore a dark bracelet, probably leather, and on his left a watch with a metal bracelet. On his mobile phone, the Albanian double-headed eagle was visible as the background image. Investigators believe he has relatives in Spain and has a connection to the Kirchlinde district.
Information and reward
Dortmund's criminal police have offered a reward of 4,000 euros for information leading to the case being solved. Witnesses can contact 0231 / 132 79 99 — from 4 June onwards 0231 / 132 0. The case was featured in the television programme "Aktenzeichen XY … ungelöst"; further information on cases is available at faelle-aktenzeichenxy.de.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)