Tragic park attack raises questions on deportation delays
An Afghan man who killed two people, including a child, in Aschaffenburg was due to be deported, Bavarian authorities have reported.
The 28-year-old, named Enamullah O. from Afghanistan, arrived in Germany in November 2022. He attacked a nursery school group with a knife in a park in Aschaffenburg, resulting in the deaths of two people. Since December 2024, he had been required to leave the country, but this deportation did not occur as planned.
The perpetrator's mental health issues
The Afghan national had been noted three times for drug offences, violent acts, property damage, and assault on officers. His records also contain an entry indicating he publicly exposed himself. It is not yet clear whether he was convicted of any of these charges, according to the weekly publication "Spiegel".
The newspaper "Bild" spoke to a witness to an act of violence perpetrated by the man in August 2024. A 23-year-old Ukrainian reported that O. was abusing a woman, which he subsequently reported to the police.
Furthermore, since December 2024, he had been required to leave the country, according to Bavarian authorities. Towards the end of last year, he expressed his intention to return voluntarily to Afghanistan. As his asylum procedure was interrupted on 11 December, he was officially obligated to leave Germany, a requirement that ultimately went unfulfilled, reported Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann.
Bavarian authorities indicated that the perpetrator had mental health problems and was repeatedly treated in psychiatric institutions following previous acts of violence, from which he was subsequently discharged. Medication was found in his room, but there is no evidence of Islamist beliefs. Again, he had been recorded three times for drug offences, violence, property damage, and assault on officers.
It is still unclear whether he was convicted of any of these charges, according to the weekly "Spiegel".
He volunteered to leave Germany
In December 2024, the man informed immigration authorities in writing of his willingness to leave the country voluntarily. According to Herrmann, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) then requested the Afghan national to obtain the necessary documents from the Consulate General of Afghanistan. However, he has not yet departed the country.
The attack resulted in the loss of two lives: a 41-year-old man and a two-year-old boy from Morocco. Those injured were a two-year-old girl from Syria, a 72-year-old German man, and a 59-year-old nursery school teacher. The police swiftly arrested the perpetrator, assisted by regular patrols in the park. The motive for the attack is still unknown, but investigators suspect a link with the perpetrator's mental illness.
Source: PAP/"Bild"/"Spiegel"/Bayerischer Rundfunk
