The explosion in a high-rise building in Ratingen is said to have been a targeted attack on the emergency services. The resident is said to have opened the apartment door on Tuesday and purposefully threw a burning liquid at the forces of the police, fire brigade and rescue service, said Dietmar Henning from the Düsseldorf police today. “The emergency services then left the site, burning themselves.”
According to the police, an elderly man who lived in the house died. The body of a woman was found earlier in the suspect’s apartment. The fact that this is the mother of the 57-year-old is considered likely, but has yet to be clarified.
The firefighters and police officers who were seriously injured in the operation continue to fight for their lives, the police said at a press conference. Investigators are now investigating whether they were ambushed. According to the authorities, more than 30 people were injured, several of them critically, when the explosion occurred on the tenth floor of a high-rise building. It was initially unclear whether they were all injured as a result of the explosion.
So far no evidence of a terrorist background
The suspect, who is said to have caused the explosion in a high-rise building in Ratingen, was no stranger to the police and judiciary. Because of an unpaid amount of money, there was an arrest warrant against him, said Laura Neumann, spokeswoman for the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office. He also has previous entries, “but nothing relevant, nothing comparable”.
It remains to be seen whether the man has since been questioned and has provided information about his motive. So far there is no evidence of a terrorist background to the act: A spokesman for the authorities said that they are in contact with the local authorities. However, there are currently no indications that the investigations will be taken over.
