According to reports by “Der Spiegel”, which cited its own sources, 21-year-old Abdul B. was allegedly already flagged by authorities as an adherent of the Islamic State (IS) prior to the suspected attack on Christopher Street Day. Last year, the Berlin-born man is reported to have attempted to join the terrorist militia IS, though this attempt seemingly failed. After returning from Lebanon, he was taken into custody in Germany. Security circles indicated that investigators accused him of preparing a severe act of violence endangering the state. The public prosecutor demanded a sentence of nearly three years, but the court ultimately ruled for a one-year and ten-month suspended juvenile sentence.
Investigators later received information several weeks ago that Abdul B. had posted a photograph of a weapon online. However, during a search of his apartment, the police reportedly only found a toy weapon. Abdul B. is considered the suspected attacker in the CSD incident this past Saturday, an event where one woman died and 25 other people were injured. The police are publicly searching for him with a photograph since early this morning. Furthermore, “Der Spiegel” reports that he allegedly rented a white Citroën van, known as a Tatauto, for the attack.
