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CRIME

‘One dead and two injured’ in Germany machete attack

A 21-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker killed a woman and injured two people with a machete Sunday in the southwest German city of Reutlingen in an incident local police said did not bear the hallmarks of a "terrorist attack".

'One dead and two injured' in Germany machete attack
News channel NTV said there were scenes of panic in the city centre following the attack. Photo: DPA

“At this stage of the enquiry we have nothing to indicate this was a terrorist attack,” police said following the attack around 4:30 pm near the bus station of the city of some 100,000 near Stuttgart.

The statement added that the man, who was arrested, “had a dispute” with the woman and killed her “with a machete” before injuring a second woman and a man.

The attacker was “known to police”, it said.

“According to the information available, the perpetrator acted alone, the people of Reutlingen and its surroundings are very probably not in danger,” the statement added.

News channel NTV said there were scenes of panic in the city centre following the attack, which came just two days after a German-Iranian teenager killed nine people and injured 19 others in Munich, Germany's third-largest city, before committing suicide.

The 18-year-old Munich attacker is believed to have been “obsessed” with mass killers such as Norwegian fanatic Anders Behring Breivik and had no links to the Islamic State jihadist group.

The carnage in Munich came just four days after a teenage asylum seeker went on a rampage with an axe and a knife on a regional train near the southern city of Würzburg, injuring five people.

German authorities said the Würzburg attacker was believed to be a “lone wolf” who was “inspired” by Islamic State without being a member of the network.

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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