Munich man hospitalized in 'worst racist attack in years'
A group of young men left a black man bloodied and unconscious after he tried to stop them harassing some Somalis, Munich police have reported.
It was late in the evening on Friday when the warehouse worker exited his bus in the north of the Bavarian capital and set off on his way home.
The 39-year-old, born and raised in Munich but with African heritage, saw two groups of people in front of him.
One of the groups was made up of four or five white young men. The other group seemed to him to be Somalis. Two of them were women.
When he realized that the young men were shouting abuse at the Somalis, he stepped in to try and calm the situation, police report.
"Leave the people from Somalia in peace,” he told the young men.
At first his mediation seemed to have worked. The insults stopped and the men left.
But as he started to make his way home, one of the young men approached him and ripped his briefcase out of his hand.
He turned and chased the young man into a courtyard, but found himself running straight into a trap that the young men had set for him.
The other three or four men were lying in wait and assaulted him.
At this point the man’s memory becomes hazy, but he remembers being struck down with a plank of wood and then being kicked several times in the head. It was at this point that he lost consciousness.
One resident of the building surrounding the courtyard heard the noise and alerted the police.
When police found the bloodied and bruised man, he was brought to hospital where he needed to be operated on.
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), this is the worst racist attack seen in Munich in years.
The SZ reports that in September 2015, eight men, most likely from the far-right milieu, attacked an Afghan fast food shop with hammers, knives and clubs in the Bavarian capital, injuring two men.
Hate crimes across Germany rose dramatically in 2015 after Germany took in a massive influx of refugees.
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It was late in the evening on Friday when the warehouse worker exited his bus in the north of the Bavarian capital and set off on his way home.
The 39-year-old, born and raised in Munich but with African heritage, saw two groups of people in front of him.
One of the groups was made up of four or five white young men. The other group seemed to him to be Somalis. Two of them were women.
When he realized that the young men were shouting abuse at the Somalis, he stepped in to try and calm the situation, police report.
"Leave the people from Somalia in peace,” he told the young men.
At first his mediation seemed to have worked. The insults stopped and the men left.
But as he started to make his way home, one of the young men approached him and ripped his briefcase out of his hand.
He turned and chased the young man into a courtyard, but found himself running straight into a trap that the young men had set for him.
The other three or four men were lying in wait and assaulted him.
At this point the man’s memory becomes hazy, but he remembers being struck down with a plank of wood and then being kicked several times in the head. It was at this point that he lost consciousness.
One resident of the building surrounding the courtyard heard the noise and alerted the police.
When police found the bloodied and bruised man, he was brought to hospital where he needed to be operated on.
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), this is the worst racist attack seen in Munich in years.
The SZ reports that in September 2015, eight men, most likely from the far-right milieu, attacked an Afghan fast food shop with hammers, knives and clubs in the Bavarian capital, injuring two men.
Hate crimes across Germany rose dramatically in 2015 after Germany took in a massive influx of refugees.
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