Sabrina Szameitat, dpa I Wednesday, May 10, 2023
DRESDEN – A man known to the police has set fire to a shelf inside a mosque in the eastern German city of Dresden as he tried to set the building on fire, a police spokesman said Wednesday.
The suspect entered the Mosque late on Tuesday evening, poured an unidentified liquid over the shelf and set it on fire with a lighter, according to police. The man then fled the scene unharmed.
A witness was able to extinguish the fire, police said.
The suspect, 34, was later arrested in his flat and is under police investigation for attempted aggravated arson. His motive was initially unclear.
The same suspect is said to have set fire to a Koran in a mosque in April.
Witnesses called the emergency services after they saw the man spilling petrol outside the mosque, which was well-attended at the time.
