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CRIME

Hamm man threatens passersby with sword

A 25-year-old man in the western German town of Hamm was arrested Saturday after threatening a passerby with a sword, police reported.

Hamm man threatens passersby with sword
Samurai swords used in a sword attack in Berlin in 2008. Photo: DPA

The man waved the sword toward the head of a 24-year-old man who was passing by. The sword stopped just inches from the passerby’s head, while the man verbally threatened the passerby.

Witnesses identified the sword-wielding man and informed police. The man also had an axe standing next to the door of his apartment and the police also learned that he kept a fighting dog in his apartment.

The police sent a special commando unit to arrest the man. Two other men who were in the man’s apartment were also briefly detained before being released after authorities determined they had not been involved in the threats.

According to police, the 25-year-old was taken to a psychiatric clinic for examination.

Police found a collection of “chopping and stabbing weapons” in the man’s apartment, which they secured.

Saturday’s incident is the latest in a string of bizarre sword attacks in Germany. In June 2008, a drunken man attacked police with a samurai sword in Berlin, and in October of the same year, a retired man was arrested in Berlin after attacking a neighbour with a samurai sword.

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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