Manslaughter proceedings are underway in the German city of Potsdam this week after a South African-born transgender ‘woman’ allegedly stabbed to death a 33-year-old Syrian security guard.
Authorities are currently limited on details regarding the stabbing that occurred at a refugee shelter in the Brandenburg city of Potsdam early on Thursday morning. The Syrian victim succumbed to his wounds after being rushed to the hospital.
Police were first alerted to the stabbing at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Thursday when the wounded security guard was discovered by a colleague. They deployed sniffer dogs and cordoned off the nearby vicinity.
It is unknown whether the South African suspect was a resident of the asylum shelter. The transgender individual was only discovered hours later after complaining to police following a verbal altercation at a nearby market over alleged transphobic language.
After being followed by plain-clothes officers, the suspect was apprehended at a train station near the Berlin Zoo. Public prosecutors have requested the local district court bring the South African suspect before a judge in Potsdam on manslaughter charges.
“Today is a sad day for our city. A person who protected people seeking protection on behalf of our city has become the victim of a violent crime,” lamented Potsdam’s socialist mayor, Mike Schubert, himself a vocal opponent of anti-migrant campaigners in Germany.
While the name and details of the South African suspect are as of yet unknown, the phenomenon of refugees identifying as transgender coming to Europe from Africa is well documented, often motivated by the risk of physical assault in their home countries.
