Following a fatal fire in a shelter for asylum seekers in Kronach in Bavaria, the Coburg public prosecutor’s office has issued a warrant for the arrest of a 34-year-old resident of the shelter.
Accordingly, investigators assume that the man intentionally set the serious fire, as a spokesperson of the Upper Franconia police headquarters reported on Tuesday.
A 31-year-old woman and her two-year-old child died in the attack on Sunday evening. The perpetrator and the victims are said to have known each other, according to the police.
According to current information, the man had first gained access to the woman’s flat via the balcony and attacked her and her young daughter several times with a knife.
He then allegedly set the fire.
In the process, the man himself suffered life-threatening burn injuries – on Tuesday afternoon, he was still in a critical state of health in hospital, according to the police.
A post-mortem examination has now revealed that the child had already been fatally injured by the knife wounds. “The 31-year-old woman also suffered a fatal stab wound and died after the fire broke out,” the police added.