Suspect accused of pushing boy under German train was on the run from Swiss police
An Eritrean man accused of killing an eight-year-old boy by pushing him under a train in Germany had been on the run from Swiss police after a violent incident last week, it has emerged.
The married father-of-three, identified by German media as 40-year-old Habte A., had also undergone psychiatric treatment this year, said police in the Swiss canton of Zurich where he lived.
Last Thursday, he had flown into a rage and threatened a neighbour with a knife and locked her up, and also trapped his wife and their children, aged one, three and four, in their flat before running away.
The outbreak of violence was surprising according to his wife and neighbour, Swiss police said. "They unanimously stated that they had never seen him like this before," a police spokesman said.
Spiegel Online reported that the asylum seeker who had lived in Switzerland for 13 years had worked in tram maintenance for the Zurich Transport Authority since early last year.
READ ALSO: Man accused of pushing boy under train is father of three
The suspect told prosecutors that he had taken the train from Basel to Frankfurt a few days ago.
Federal Police President Dieter Romann said that the man had entered Switzerland without permission in 2006 and had applied for asylum there, which he was granted two years later. "Since then, he has held a category C settlement permit in Switzerland, which means that he is well integrated," said Romann.
The suspect had been working and was "exemplary from the point of view of the foreigners and asylum authorities in Switzerland".
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer noted he had been held up as an example of successful integration in a publication of the social work organization SAH.
According to investigators, there are no indications of radicalization.
German prosecutors laid murder and attempted murder charges against the man over the attack Monday that left eye-witnesses in need of trauma counselling and shocked the nation.
He allegedly also pushed the boy's mother onto the tracks at Frankfurt's main station, and tried but failed to do the same to a 78-year-old woman.
"While the mother could roll off after the fall and move herself onto a narrow footpath between two tracks, her child was caught by the arriving train and died, on the spot, of his injuries," said a statement by Frankfurt
prosecutors.
Psychiatric examination
The man ran down a platform and across tracks but was followed by passers-by including an off-duty officer, and overpowered by police two blocks from the station.
The suspect did not previously know the victims and showed no signs of alcohol or drug use, prosecutors spokeswoman Nadja Niesen said.
"The crime suggests a psychiatric disorder," she told a press conference, adding that an examination would ascertain the level of his criminal culpability.
SEE ALSO: 'More police needed': Killing of child puts focus on security in Germany's train stations
The horrific crime has dominated newspaper front-pages and TV news bulletins, and led politicians to call for heightened security, more camera surveillance and tighter border controls.
Citizens have laid flower wreaths, candles and stuffed toys at the site of the killing and a memorial service was scheduled at the station in the evening.
Photo: DPA
Interior Minister Seehofer had cut short his summer holiday to meet the heads of major security agencies in Berlin.
Seehofer emphasized that although the general crime rate in Germany is decreasing, people could be feeling "very tense" about security.
There will now be top-level discussions between agencies about how security at railway stations in Germany can be improved. Seehofer demanded a greater police presence at railway stations, echoing calls from other politicians in Germany.
Motive still unknown
Prosecutors spokeswoman Niesen said the man in custody had not yet spoken about a motive.
If formally charged, tried and then found guilty, he would face a likely term of life in prison, she said.
In a similar case earlier this month, a 34-year-old mother died after being pushed in front of a train, allegedly by a Serbian man.
Germany's far-right has seized on both killings to once more criticise what it regards as the flawed immigration policies of Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.
SEE ALSO: Woman dies after being pushed in front of oncoming train near Duisburg
With reporting from Frank Zeller
Comments (3)
See Also
The married father-of-three, identified by German media as 40-year-old Habte A., had also undergone psychiatric treatment this year, said police in the Swiss canton of Zurich where he lived.
Last Thursday, he had flown into a rage and threatened a neighbour with a knife and locked her up, and also trapped his wife and their children, aged one, three and four, in their flat before running away.
The outbreak of violence was surprising according to his wife and neighbour, Swiss police said. "They unanimously stated that they had never seen him like this before," a police spokesman said.
Spiegel Online reported that the asylum seeker who had lived in Switzerland for 13 years had worked in tram maintenance for the Zurich Transport Authority since early last year.
READ ALSO: Man accused of pushing boy under train is father of three
German prosecutors laid murder and attempted murder charges against the man over the attack Monday that left eye-witnesses in need of trauma counselling and shocked the nation.
He allegedly also pushed the boy's mother onto the tracks at Frankfurt's main station, and tried but failed to do the same to a 78-year-old woman.
"While the mother could roll off after the fall and move herself onto a narrow footpath between two tracks, her child was caught by the arriving train and died, on the spot, of his injuries," said a statement by Frankfurt
prosecutors.
Psychiatric examination
The man ran down a platform and across tracks but was followed by passers-by including an off-duty officer, and overpowered by police two blocks from the station.
The suspect did not previously know the victims and showed no signs of alcohol or drug use, prosecutors spokeswoman Nadja Niesen said.
"The crime suggests a psychiatric disorder," she told a press conference, adding that an examination would ascertain the level of his criminal culpability.
SEE ALSO: 'More police needed': Killing of child puts focus on security in Germany's train stations
The horrific crime has dominated newspaper front-pages and TV news bulletins, and led politicians to call for heightened security, more camera surveillance and tighter border controls.
Citizens have laid flower wreaths, candles and stuffed toys at the site of the killing and a memorial service was scheduled at the station in the evening.
Photo: DPA
Interior Minister Seehofer had cut short his summer holiday to meet the heads of major security agencies in Berlin.
Seehofer emphasized that although the general crime rate in Germany is decreasing, people could be feeling "very tense" about security.
There will now be top-level discussions between agencies about how security at railway stations in Germany can be improved. Seehofer demanded a greater police presence at railway stations, echoing calls from other politicians in Germany.
Motive still unknown
Prosecutors spokeswoman Niesen said the man in custody had not yet spoken about a motive.
If formally charged, tried and then found guilty, he would face a likely term of life in prison, she said.
In a similar case earlier this month, a 34-year-old mother died after being pushed in front of a train, allegedly by a Serbian man.
Germany's far-right has seized on both killings to once more criticise what it regards as the flawed immigration policies of Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.
SEE ALSO: Woman dies after being pushed in front of oncoming train near Duisburg
With reporting from Frank Zeller
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.