Police in Dresden arrested a 21-year-old Syrian early Tuesday on suspicion of grievous bodily harm in a late-night tram knife attack. The suspect had been detained and released shortly after the incident; new information prompted renewed custody. Authorities say there are reasonable grounds to suspect he was involved in injuring a 20-year-old American and may have wounded the victim with a dangerous object. Police and prosecutors say they are still investigating and cannot provide further details. Authorities continue seeking a second suspect and have appealed for witnesses. The US Embassy condemned the brutal attack and urged German authorities to punish perpetrators to the fullest extent. The victim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening facial lacerations after intervening to protect a harassed female passenger.
The man in question had already been detained once before and was released soon after the incident, with no initial indication of him being directly involved in injuring a young American. But investigators said new information might implicate him more directly. Police said in a press release that after further investigation there was now reasonable grounds to suspect that he was "involved in the knife attack against the 20-year-old American and also himself injured the victim with a dangerous object."
The victim was wounded after stepping in to try to protect another female passenger on the tram who was being harassed, according to police. The US Embassy in Berlin condemned the "brutal attack" in a statement online, and called on "German authorities to swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice and punish them to the fullest extent permitted by law." The victim was hospitalized with lacerations to the face but police said the injuries were not life-threatening.
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