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Man in Kippa Assaulted and Spat At in Berlin's Charlottenburg

The suspect is in custody as the state criminal police review whether the attack was motivated by antisemitism.

Overview

  • A 48-year-old man wearing a kippa was insulted, threatened and physically attacked on Uhlandstraße in Charlottenburg around 3:15 p.m. on Saturday.
  • Witnesses say the attacker spat in the man's face and also spat at two children who were standing nearby.
  • Police detained a 31-year-old suspect, placed him in custody and took a blood sample as part of routine forensic steps.
  • The Landeskriminalamt has taken over the investigation to determine whether the incident qualifies as an antisemitic offence, a review that comes as monitoring groups report elevated numbers of antisemitic incidents in Berlin.
  • Some media outlets have repeated a tabloid claim that the suspect is of Arab origin, but authorities have not confirmed that detail and it remains unverified.