The 37-year-old stateless Palestinian man, who is alleged to have murdered a 14-year-old boy in Memmingen, Bavaria, may have posted Islamist content on TikTok prior to the crime. In several videos currently circulating on social media, a man believed to be the suspect poses with his index finger extended, in the so-called Tawhid salute. Islamic chants, known as nasheeds, can also be heard in the background of several videos. A Palestinian flag is displayed in the profile description.
The Memmingen public prosecutor’s office declined to comment to the newspaper JUNGEN FREIHEIT on the ongoing investigation. It was unable to either confirm or deny whether the TikTok channel actually belongs to the suspect.
Most of the videos posted online show the alleged suspect exercising at an outdoor sports facility on Saarlandstraße in Memmingen. He is frequently seen practising martial arts techniques such as kicks. One of the videos – although it only shows him doing pull-ups – has the words ‘Free Palestine’ as its thumbnail.
The suspect is alleged to have killed 14-year-old German Jermaine B. on Sunday. Police officers found the lifeless body in the early hours of Monday morning in an empty, dilapidated house. During the search for the perpetrator, they came across the rejected asylum seeker on Monday evening. When they attempted to arrest the man, he lunged at the officers with a knife. A police officer then opened fire and killed the 37-year-old.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the suspect was born in Abu Qash, a town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. However, the authorities were unable to determine the asylum seeker’s nationality. The migrant did not have a passport. For this reason, they granted him temporary leave to remain and did not deport him. Yet the 37-year-old was already known to the police and had previously been convicted twice and fined: recently for unlawful residence and previously for criminal damage.