A trans-identified male is in custody on charges of manslaughter after it was reported that he fatally stabbed a Syrian security guard at a refugee shelter in Potsdam, Germany. The suspect, who is said to be from South Africa, was arrested after contacting the police to report a misgendering incident hours after he fled the crime scene.
Details are currently limited as the story is developing, but German police have confirmed that the incident took place within the Schloßgarten Hotel – a building which was converted into a shelter in 2022 and houses approximately 30 asylum seekers. At approximately 4 a.m. on May 30, a dispute broke out within the facility, culminating in a security guard being stabbed. The 33-year-old guard, who is a Syrian national, was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries.
The perpetrator fled the scene, resulting in a wide-scale manhunt conducted by the Brandenburg West Police Department. The area surrounding the shelter was closed off, and police began to search through nearby Sanssouci Park using sniffer dogs.
But just three hours after the manhunt began, the perpetrator called on the police himself to report that he had been the victim of misgendering at an Edeka supermarket in nearby Schöneberg.
Responding officers took his complaint without knowing he was connected to the manhunt in Potsdam because it is not standard practice to run the names of “victims” through police systems following a report. Had they done so, the officers would have likely seen he was wanted in Potsdam, but because they did not, the suspect was allowed to continue on his day after he lodged his complaint for the “transphobic incident.”
Some time later, authorities in Potsdam became aware of the “transphobic incident” report, which assisted them in determining the area the suspect would be in.
He was ultimately apprehended after an off-duty police officer saw him boarding a train at the Berlin Zoologischer Garten station. The public prosecutor’s office has issued manslaughter charges at this time.
While the identity of the suspect has not been released, it is known that he is a South African trans-identified male, and was likely not a resident of the refugee shelter where the stabbing took place. Why he was at the shelter is unclear at this time. Police are also investigating whether the alleged perpetrator’s gender identity was a factor in the crime.
The Mayor of Potsdam, Lord Mike Schubert, released a short statement on the incident, noting that it was a sad day for the community.
“A person working on behalf of our city who was protecting those seeking asylum has become the victim of a violent crime – the news of his death has hurt me deeply,” Schubert said. He also raised questions as to why a Syrian national had been hired to guard a refugee shelter.
Because the Schloßgarten Hotel has now been closed in order to preserve evidence, an emergency maritime care center has agreed to temporarily take the residents of the shelter, along with the colleagues of the slain security guard.
The trans-identified male suspect is expected in court on May 31.
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