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Berlin (dpa) – The attack is insidious and cruel: the two homeless men sleep in their camp at the busy station of Schöneweide, east of Berlin, while the guilty gets closer late Sunday night.
He pours a liquid on his victims, reaches the lighter or matches and lights the men.
Witnesses of a nearby snack barge to help and fight the flames with a fire extinguisher. Presumably, they save the lives of the homeless . Both victims have German nationality. At first, there was no more information about his identity.
Nevertheless, at the age of 47 and 62, the two men are seriously injured, according to the police. Paramedics provide first aid. Then the victims are taken to the Berlin Accident Hospital (UKB) in Marzahn. There they are treated since the night, as one speaker says. The clinic specializes in the treatment of burns.
On Monday, one of the men is in the so-called protective coma, an artificial deep sleep that protects the body. With burns, recovery can take weeks and in severe cases months, says the UKB spokesman. It depends on the type of injury, the degree of burn and the parts of the body affected.
The head of the Zoo Mission Station, Dieter Puhl, reacts Monday directly. "We are outraged by the attacks on homeless people that are known to us, Hey – unfortunately, the number of unreported cases is much higher," writes Puhl, who has been dealing with homeless people in Berlin since [19659008] Facebook .
"Coercion, insults, aggression, violence, rapes – many are not posted." The best protection is more help, additional sleeping space, "social empathy, the education of the heart," Puhl asks.
Police take it to the first investigation of a culprit. This escapes after the attack, which occurred at 11 pm. At night, criminal police experts in white suits investigate the crime scene. In the partially burned camp of the homeless, they search for traces between carts, blankets, pillows and clothes.
A murder commission resumes the investigation and questions the witnesses. The police also check if the station's location is monitored by cameras. If the attacker was in the building, he could have been filmed by the local cameras.
Information about the author or motive is not known at the beginning, other issues are also open. Whether the flammable liquid is gasoline, methylated brandy or high strength schnapps, it is not clear at the moment, just like the amount used.
The fact that the abuser had fluid and used it could indicate a planned act. Does the perpetrator come from a far right background, does it belong to an aggressive but non-political scene of young men or even homeless environments? The police are now trying to answer these questions.
The victims camped in a lift cage located on the forecourt of the train station, between the station building, a large shopping center, a main road and snacks. The crime scene was very visible from all sides. Berlin estimates that between 4,000 and 10,000 people live on the streets or in the parks. Attacks against them happen again and again, also because the homeless often appear helpless and intoxicated. The aggressors are often aggressive young men.
The current case directly reminds of Christmas Eve 2016, when a group of young people in a Berlin subway station attempted to light a sleeping homeless with a lighter. The act was rather spontaneous because of the boredom of young refugees on Christmas Eve and a dangerous group dynamic.
The court did not see an attempted murder. The main culprit was found guilty of attempting dangerous aggression. However, there are differences: mainly because of the liquid, which could indicate a targeted attack.
About 150 people commemorate the two victims of the insidious attack Monday night. They participate in the crime scene during a vigil against "hostility and exclusion of the homeless." In front of the crime scene, there was a sign saying "Grief – Fury – Solidarity". People lay flowers and candles.
Dieter Puhl on Facebook
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