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Monday, July 25

German government had provided Ansbach bomber with an apartment

It's still not clear whether the perp was a suicide bomber or accidentally set off the bomb while he was trying to prime it. Either way, he's dead from the bomb blast, although he wasn't killed instantly; the bomb might have been in a rucksack he was carrying rather than strapped to his back. (See my earlier post featuring different news reports on the incident.)

It's also not clear whether the bomber, a Syrian, was a migrant or refugee. Different BBC headlines have characterized him both ways. 

What is clear from the following report is that the German government put him up in an apartment even after rejecting his request for asylum and let him stay in the country.

As for his mental problems -- not so crazy that he couldn't build or obtain a bomb constructed to do a lot of harm to many people at a music concert; it's just that for whatever reason it wasn't as lethal as intended.   

From BBC report, July 25:

[...]
The explosion is reported to have happened at about 22:10 (20:10 GMT) outside the Eugens Weinstube bar in the city centre which is a short distance from the entrance to the Ansbach Open music festival.
Police said three of the injured were in a serious condition.
Security services have sealed off the city centre and experts are trying to establish the kind of explosives the bomber used.
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said the suspected attacker had entered Germany two years ago and had his asylum claim rejected a year ago.
He had been given leave to stay temporarily given the situation in his home country and provided with an apartment in Ansbach, Mr Herrmann added.
The minister said he was "incensed" by the attack, which he said demonstrated the need "to strengthen controls on those we have living in our country".
Mr Herrmann said the man was known to have attempted suicide twice and had spent time in a psychiatric clinic.
"We don't know if this man planned on suicide or if he had the intention of killing others," he said.
However, he added that the bomb in the backpack would have been sufficient to kill and injure many more people.
Ansbach deputy police chief Roman Fertinger said there were "indications" that pieces of metal had been added to the explosive device.
Witness Thomas Debinski said there was "panic" after the explosion, although some people thought it was caused by a gas explosion.
"Then people came past and said it was a rucksack that had exploded," he told Sky News.
[...]
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