The Islamic State (IS) group on Tuesday released a video allegedly showing the Afghan refugee who slashed people on a German train with an axe and knife, saying he would carry out the attack.
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German authorities said they believed the teen may have “self-radicalised” while living in the country.
The train was carrying a total of 30 passengers, when the teen shouted “Allahu akbar”, meaning God is great, before proceeding with action against them.
Investigator Lothar Koehler said the teenager’s motivation appeared to be Islamic extremism based upon a passage, found among various notes in his apartment, which read: “Pray for me that I can take revenge on these infidels and pray for me that I will go to heaven”.
The assailant jumped off the train after someone pulled the emergency cord and got about 500 meters (yards) into Wuerzburg-Heidingsfeld, attacking a woman there with his ax and ran away before the police special unit chased him.
The train attack came just four days after a Tunisian delivery man drove a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 84 people. 14 passengers were being treated for shock while another was lightly injured.
The man said he saw people crawl from the carriage.
The 62 year old, surnamed Yau, and Edmund Au Yeung, the boyfriend of Tracy Yau Hiu-tung, suffered severe head, neck, abdominal and hand wounds after they tried to protect their loved ones.
Early reports suggested he had yelled “Allahu akbar” but police later said there was no evidence pointing to a religious motive. The Mayor of Wuerzburg expressed his thoughts on the situation.
Unlike neighbours France and Belgium, Germany has not been the victim of a major attack by Islamic militants in recent years, although security officials say they have thwarted a large number of plots. At that time, he was moved into a foster home in the same town the attack took place, where he interned at a bakery and showed interest in entering a job training program.
The attacker came to Germany as an unaccompanied minor a year ago, Herrmann said, eventually settling in Ochsenfurt, Bavaria.
Though he identified as Mohammad Riyad but the authorities in Germany have said he was recorded as Riaz Kahn.
Such terrorism “points to the urgent need to focus on integration” of refugees from Muslim lands, said Schuster, who lives in the Bavarian city of Wurzburg.
“He was active on social media, had his page there, but there were no hints of any extremist Islamist thought”, Koehler said. He said the assailant posted cryptic messages on the Internet a few hours before the attack, talking about enemies of Islam.
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Germany absorbed more than one million refugees a year ago.
