German police confirm Syrian man was hostage-taker in Cologne incident

Reuters

16 October 2018 at 9:55 am

German special Police walks near the main train station in Cologne, Germany, October 15, 2018, after the train station was closed after hostage-taking. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police on Tuesday confirmed that the man who took a woman hostage in the western city of Cologne on Monday was a 55-year-old Syrian man who arrived in Germany in 2015.

Senior Cologne police official Klaus-Stephan Becker told a news conference that a Syrian passport found at the scene of the hostage-taking belonged to the man, who had been granted refugee status.

Cologne deputy police president Miriam Brauns said the man was in a coma following emergency surgery so could not be interrogated.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

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