An Afghan national has handed himself in to German police after being caught on CCTV dousing a woman in gas before bundling her into a vehicle and fleeing the scene.
The incident occurred on Thursday morning in Langenhorn, Hamburg, when a maintenance company employee sounded the alarm after observing an unknown male pouring gasoline over a female at a Jet gas station on Langenhorner Chaussee.
When the employee tried to intervene, he too was doused in gasoline before the perpetrator dragged the woman into a car and took off.
Local police and firefighters were dispatched to the scene, and investigators acquired footage from the gas station’s surveillance cameras that provided a clear view of the perpetrator and the vehicle’s license plate number.
Following a manhunt on Thursday, authorities were able to find the woman, who is safe, and the perpetrator is understood to have turned himself in to police around 9 p.m.
German media reported the suspect as being a 31-year-old Afghan national living in Kiel, a city around 90 kilometers north of Hamburg.
Further details surrounding the incident have not been forthcoming; however, local media stated there was a dispute between the two individuals involved, which is understood to have escalated. NDR radio reported that the pair are in a relationship and have children together.
An investigation led by the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) is ongoing on suspicion of threatening behavior, coercion, and domestic violence.
The suspect has since been released after his interrogation due to a perceived lack of grounds for detention.