Attack in Munich What we know about the driver - and what we don't

What we know about the Munich driver - and what we don't - Gallery

Flowers and candles for the victims of the horrific drive.

Image: dpa

The car of the alleged perpetrator was taken away in the evening.

Image: dpa

Candles burn for the victims.

Image: dpa

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) visited the scene of the accident in the evening.

Image: dpa

What we know about the Munich driver - and what we don't - Gallery

Flowers and candles for the victims of the horrific drive.

Image: dpa

The car of the alleged perpetrator was taken away in the evening.

Image: dpa

Candles burn for the victims.

Image: dpa

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) visited the scene of the accident in the evening.

Image: dpa

A car drives into a demonstration in the middle of the Bavarian capital of Munich. There are indications of an Islamist background. This is what we know about the perpetrator so far.

DPA

14.02.2025, 19:10

14.02.2025, 19:11

dpa

Following the attack in Munich that left at least 36 people injured, investigators are shedding light on the perpetrator's life. After questioning him, the public prosecutor's office sees indications of an Islamist background. But there are still question marks in the search for the motive for driving a car into the middle of a Verdi demonstration. What is known so far and what still needs to be clarified - an overview:

The man is 24 years old and has been in Germany since the end of 2016. He is said to have lived in the Afghan capital Kabul as a child. There is no doubt about his identity so far. It is known that he had previously stayed in Italy and presented a passport that the German authorities believed to be genuine. Shortly after his arrival in Germany, the then 15-year-old was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the German Press Agency. This is not uncommon among unaccompanied refugee minors. The causes often lie in experiences in the country of origin - such as war - or in the circumstances of the flight.

He attended school in Germany, which he left with a secondary school leaving certificate. He then began an apprenticeship, as can be seen from the ruling of the administrative court in his asylum case.

On social media, he presents himself as a bodybuilder who also takes part in competitions. He also shares Islamic religious content. According to Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU), the young Afghan attended school, completed vocational training and then worked as a store detective for two security companies. He has been in custody since Friday. He is accused of attempted murder, according to the Munich Public Prosecutor General's Office.

According to the public prosecutor's office, the man worked in the security industry until the end and lived in a rented apartment. The apartment on the third floor of an apartment building in the Solln district had been searched the day before. The car he ran over people with belonged to him. Neighbors said they did not know him. He had no criminal record. According to the authorities, there were proceedings in Bavaria for employment office fraud because he had probably not deregistered in time after the end of his unemployment. The case was dropped in exchange for a fine.

According to Herrmann, the young Afghan had a valid residence permit and a work permit. According to the police, he had a so-called fictitious certificate as a transition between two valid residence permits.

At the same time, the investigators report that, according to the latest findings, the man - contrary to what was initially assumed on Thursday - had not been conspicuous for shoplifting and drug offenses. His work as a store detective had led to this misunderstanding. According to the police, he had been a witness in relevant proceedings and had filed charges himself.

The Afghan applied for asylum in February 2017. His application was rejected. He failed to appeal against this in court. The administrative court classified the story of persecution presented by the young man, according to which his father had been killed and the rest of his family had been persecuted by a gang, as implausible and full of contradictions. The ruling from October 2020 stated that it was assumed that he had "only invented the story in order to obtain the right to stay". Among other things, it was contradictory that he had claimed to have worked as a tiler in Kabul on the one hand, but had also claimed that he mostly hid at home on the other. In the fall of 2020, his asylum procedure was finally concluded with a rejection notice and an order to leave the country.

The City of Munich announced that the young man was then granted tolerated stay, "as no deportations to Afghanistan were being carried out at the time and he was also in training after completing his schooling in 2020". According to a spokesperson, he then applied for a residence permit for well-integrated young people and young adults. In October 2021, he was granted this for two years. As a subsequent application for an extension had not yet been finalized, he received the "fictitious certificate" to bridge the gap, which was valid until April, according to the city of Munich.

In fact, 167 men were still deported from Germany to Afghanistan in 2021. The repatriation flights were only stopped a few weeks before the Islamist Taliban took power in Kabul in mid-August. However, the focus of deportations to Afghanistan at that time was on criminals and Islamists classified as dangerous by the police.

What the man said after his arrest "suggests a religious motivation for the crime", says senior public prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann. After his arrest, he said "Allahu akbar" (God is great) and prayed.

According to Interior Minister Herrmann, there is no indication of a connection with the ongoing Munich Security Conference of high-ranking international politicians. "At the moment, we are indeed assuming that the target group here, that the victims from the ranks of this Verdi demonstration were more of a coincidence," he says. "But of course that also needs to be investigated."

No. The man had "probably been rather inconspicuous so far", says Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU). According to security sources, a look at the 24-year-old's environment has not yet revealed any contacts with Islamist circles. He was religious, prayed and regularly went to a mosque which, according to the public prosecutor's office, is not known for extremist preachers. The fact that the young Afghan appeared on social media dressed as a bodybuilder rather speaks against a closed Islamist world view.