Germany: Syrian Stabs Man to Death and Is Killed by Police

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel

"Wir schaffen dass"

(We can do this)

It has happened again, and it will happen again and again. Yesterday in Berlin, a Syrian man, not further identified, got into a dispute with a German man on a subway. The Syrian stabbed the German fatally. After fleeing a short distance, he was stopped by police and shot as he came at them with the knife. On Sunday morning, the suspect died.  

The below article in today's Berliner Morgenpost is translated by Fousesquawk.

Stabbed in the heart

Deadly knife attack in Berlin- Police announce new details

April 13, 2025

By Louisa Thoenig and Julian Wuerzer

Caption: A man dies after stabbing in Charlottenburg

Berlin: A man dies from a knife attack. The alleged perpetrator flees, is shot by police, and dies in the hospital

The man who, on Saturday afternoon on a U-Bahn (subway) in Charlottenburg fatally wounded a 29-year-old man with a knife, has died. He was shot by a police officer after the attack. The 43-year-old succumbed to his wounds on Sunday morning in Virchow Clinic. Police and the Public Prosecutors' Office report. The victim was a German, the suspect a Syrian. No information is yet available as to the residence status of the 43-year-old.

"There are presently no indications that the 43-year-old Syrian citizen might have attacked the 29-year-old German citizen out of any Islamist-terrorist motives," police and the Public Prosecutor's Office explained. Both of the dead were reportedly known to police and the courts and had previously appeared in court for bodily injury crimes, resistance, and physical attacks on law enforcement officers, as well as violation of narcotic laws.

Caption: A policewoman stands at the scene where the attacker was shot by police.

Men get into a fight-43-year-old stabs with a knife

According to the investigation to date, the 43-year-old and the 29-year-old boarded the U12 (direction Warschauerstrasse) at the Kaiserdamm subway station around 4:15 pm. For some unknown reason, within seconds, an argument began between the two passengers, which led to shoves back and forth initiated by the 43-year-old. 

Police shoot knifeman on Schlossstrasse

After the act, the 43-year-old suspect took flight. He was stopped by two police officers on  Schlossstrasse-within walking distance of the Sophie-Charlotte-Platz subway station. He then reportedly approached the officers with the knife.

A police officer then fired several shots. At least three shots struck the suspect in the thigh, torso, and neck. The attacker was resuscitated at the scene before he was taken to a hospital. Despite an emergency operation, the 43-year-old died.

Subway traffic interrupted by investigation

For hours after the crime, police were in a large deployment around the Sophie-Charlotte-Platz. The entrance to the subway station of the same name was cordoned off with tape. Police forces were seen securing clues and evidentiary material. A few meters away, on the Schlossstrasse, the police also cordoned off an area where the suspect was shot by police.

Many people witnessed the operation. The subway station was closed. According to police and the Berlin-Brandenburg Traffic Association, U-12 traffic was interrupted. Emergency care was set up.