Lawyer: Suspect had no political motive

According to his lawyer, the 41-year-old man who allegedly started two fires in apartment buildings in Essen on Saturday had no political motive. “Not a discovery,” lawyer Volker Schröder told the German News Agency. “A true story of family tragedy. Fight his wife for the children – and maybe a mental disorder.” That was the situation that led to the crime. Schröder said he still could not explain why the man sent a delivery truck to two grocery store after the two suspected arsons.

According to the police, the man with Syrian citizenship will be brought before the judge this Sunday. He is suspected of attempted murder and attempted murder. The fires left 30 people injured, including two small children with life-threatening injuries.