German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere addresses a press conference in Berlin, Germany, July 25, 2016. Europe’s economic powerhouse was already reeling after nine people were killed in a shopping centre shooting rampage in Munich on July 22 and four people were wounded in an axe attack on a train in Wuerzburg on July 18. Authorities said assailant and victim knew each other from working in the same restaurant, and the incident was not related to terrorism.
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Also Sunday, a 27-year-old Syrian who was denied asylum detonated a backpack of explosives and shrapnel at the entrance to an outdoor music festival in Ansbach, killing himself and wounding 15 people.
According to De Maiziere, the Syrian arrived in Germany two years ago and applied for asylum protection in August 2014. Europe has been on edge for months after a string of deadly attacks claimed by Daesh, including bombings in Brussels and the carnage at Bastille Day celebrations in the southern French city of Nice.
“It is clear that with these attacks in quick succession, the worries and fears in our population will grow”, said Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, whose conservative Christian Social Union is allied with Merkel but has called on her to limit the number of asylum applicants.
Authorities said his asylum application was rejected and he was twice ordered to be deported to Bulgaria.
Anxiety over Germany’s ability to cope with last year’s flood of more than 1 million registered asylum seekers first surged following a series of sexual assaults and robberies in Cologne during New Year celebrations. A video on his cellphone showed him declaring loyalty to the Islamic State group and announcing a “revenge act against Germans because they are standing in the way of Islam”.
A video made by the assailant was found on his mobile phone in which he threatened an attack. It could be “a combination of both”, De Maiziere added.
“Yes, this was also for me personally a very awful week, as I think it was for most of the people in Bavaria”.
More than 2,000 people were evacuated from the festival after the explosion.
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“Good integration policy is always preventive security policy as well”, he said.
