A foreign intelligence service passed on the news of the planned drive-by attack to the German investigators. Tarik S., who according to the local media was born in Duisburg, wrote in recent days in chats that he “wants to die with his hand”. According to intelligence sources, he planned a stampede attack on a pro-Israel rally in North Rhine-Westphalia, with the aim of murdering and injuring as many innocent people as possible.
“S. originally comes from the jihadist scene in Hereford,” noted the German media. At the end of 2013, he traveled, as mentioned, to Syria via Turkey and joined ISIS. In one video, the suspect is seen next to a decapitated victim. After returning to Germany in 2016, he was detained by state security at Frankfurt Airport. The Higher Regional Court in Dusseldorf sentenced him in 2017 to five years in prison for membership in the terrorist organization.