German authorities say that an Afghan man suspected in the stabbing of two American tourists at Amsterdam’s main railway had applied for asylum in Germany and was not considered a security threat.
German Interior Ministry spokesman Harald Neymanns on Monday confirmed that the suspect, a 19-year-old man identified under Dutch privacy rules only as Jawed S., is registered as an asylum seeker in Germany.
Neymanns says German federal police have no information that the suspect was considered a threat to security or even as a person of interest.
Authorities have said that based on his initial comments the man had a “terrorist motive.”
The suspect is due to appear before an investigating judge later Monday at a hearing in the hospital where he is recovering after being shot by police.