After a fatal attack at a Hamburg U B station, politicians are calling for consequences. An 18‑year‑old Iranian woman was pushed by a 25‑year‑old South Sudanese man into an oncoming train on Thursday evening, and both died. Police report that the attacker and the victim did not appear to know each other.
“The case shows, in a dramatic way, that many traumatized people have come to us” said Alexander Throm, CDU/CSU Bundestag speaker, to “Stern”. “The sheer number makes it impossible to provide adequate care for everyone. Above all, however, we must protect the people in the country, and that is my priority”. He added that it should be questioned whether a place far from home, like Germany, is the right option for some people and that it would be better to strengthen local support.
Throm also noted that Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) had already halted humanitarian intake programmes for refugees before the incident. The South Sudanese had entered Germany in 2024 under such a programme.
Dennis Gladiator, CDU Hamburg’s interior policy spokesperson, told the magazine that humanity obliges us to help those in need, but it must not allow individuals with serious violent crimes to remain effectively uncontrolled. “When even clear violence does not trigger effective measures, that is a political problem that must be solved urgently” he said. “No side may ‘politically block’ this”.
Sebastian Fiedler, SPD interior policy spokesman in the Bundestag, said security authorities and the Interior Ministers’ Conference are already working intensively on preventing such incidents. “Many countries have police methods to identify potential violent offenders early and to prevent crimes with various measures” he explained to “Stern”. “The terrible thing is that this cannot help the young victim any longer”.
Clara Bünger, the Linksfraktion’s interior policy spokesperson in the Bundestag, highlighted the need for preventive action at train stations. “All too often across the country we see fatal situations where people are pushed onto the tracks, fall, or otherwise end up on the tracks. This must be prevented” she said. “We urgently need protective devices to stop falls or pushes onto the tracks”. Several other countries, such as the UK and Japan, already employ similar glass partitions.
