Five days after a fatal knife attack on a bank employee in Regensburg, Bavaria, the 20-year-old suspect has been temporarily placed in a psychiatric facility due to indications of a mental illness. The Regensburg public prosecutor's office announced this on Tuesday. A short forensic-psychiatric report concluded that his criminal responsibility was "at least significantly diminished." Complete lack of criminal responsibility is also considered conceivable.
The suspect allegedly stabbed an employee with a knife at a bank in Regensburg's city center last Thursday, after first presenting him with a note demanding money. According to investigators, only a few seconds passed between the note being shown and the knife attack itself.
After the attack, the suspect retreated into the back rooms of the bank branch, where other employees and customers were present at the time. They brought themselves to safety through a window, with support from emergency responders, or were later led outside by police officers. Special forces located the 20-year-old in a bathroom inside the bank. He was arrested there without resistance.
The prosecutor's office is investigating the man on suspicion of murder; he was initially held in pretrial detention. However, following an assessment commissioned by the prosecutor's office and carried out by an expert, a court on Tuesday ordered his temporary placement in a specialized psychiatric facility. According to the expert's assessment, there are indications that the act may be attributable to a psychiatric illness, it was reported. No further details were given.
The bank employee, severely injured by multiple stab wounds, had been brought out of the building through a window along with other witnesses to the attack. Despite all rescue efforts, he died in hospital.
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