Suspected bomber dies in explosion at bar in Ansbach
One person was killed and 11 injured in an explosion at a cafe in the Bavarian city of Ansbach yesterday.
The blast was caused by an explosive device, local mayor Carda Seidel said at a press conference. It had earlier been reported to be a gas explosion.
The explosion happened at about 10pm local time, at the wine bar near the entrance to an open-air music festival, with some 2,500 in attendance. The festival was shut down as a precaution after the explosion.
The blast prompted the evacuation of more than 2,000 people from a nearby music festival, authorities said.
Local police said that "a man, according to our current knowledge the perpetrator, died" in the blast.
Germany is on edge after a deadly rampage at a Munich mall on Friday in which nine people were killed and an axe attack on a train near Wuerzburg last Monday in which five people were wounded.
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann was being briefed about the incident, the spokesman said.
Ansbach is home to a US Army base and the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade. A spokesman at the base said the base had no information about the explosion.
The 20-year-old, who worked at the fast food restaurant with the attacker and his victim, said he was refilling the drinks machine when the attack started and ran away in a panic.
Mr Alhelo said the attacker was arguing with the woman before he killed her on the street – he said he had fallen in love with the woman when he started working there.
He described the man as "a friendly guy" who had arrived alone in Germany from Syria around 18 months ago. After killing the woman in the restaurant the man injured two more people before being arrested.
An eyewitness told Bild: "The attacker was completely out of his mind. He ran with the machete behind a police patrol car."
He said a passing BMW managed to run him over and afterwards he "lay prostrate on the ground and didn't move". The police has confirmed the attacker was a 21-year-old Syrian refugee but have not released his name. The motive for the attack is unclear but police said there is no evidence it is terror related.
In a statement,they said the man was known to police but they suspected he was a "lone operator" and did not think people in and around the city are at risk. It comes as Germany is on edge following two attacks in the past week.
A teenager went on a rampage in a Munich mall on Friday evening, killing nine, and an Afghan teenager attacked train passengers with an axe in Bavaria, wounding five, before being shot dead by police last week.