BERLIN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Federal Prosecution Office has launched investigations into a recent hostage-taking incident at the Cologne railway station, a spokesperson for the Karlsruhe-based judicial organization announced on Wednesday.
The spokesperson said that further details about the involvement of the federal prosecutors, which represent the government at the Federal Court of Justice, would be provided in the course of the day. The Federal Prosecution Office only conducts investigatory procedures in cases which potentially concern German interior security, including politically-motivated crimes or terrorist offenses.
Two days after the incident, the exact motive behind an arson attack and subsequent two-hour hostage taking at the Cologne Central Railway Station remains unclear.
Surveillance footage shows a man pouring large amounts of petrol on the floor of a fast food restaurant, followed by a dramatic blaze of fire. The suspect then left luggage filled with gas cartridges and fire accelerant in the burning restaurant before entering a nearby pharmacy where he took a member of the staff as hostage. The stand-off lasted for a further two hours before police opened fire on the man and successfully freed the hostage when he began to pour gasoline on his victim.
Klaus-Stephan Becker, the head of the Cologne criminal police, told the press on Tuesday that it was a matter of "great luck" that only a few people were injured in the incident. A 14-year-old girl suffered severe burns from the fast food restaurant fire while the hostage, another teenage girl, only experienced light injuries.
The perpetrator himself remains in a coma but is no longer in a critical condition according to local security authorities. Becker said that he was convinced that the hostage was a "victim by chance" and that the actual plan was "obviously an arson attack in the McDonald's."
The suspect is a Syrian asylum seeker who has been granted humanitarian residence in Germany until 2021. Police also revealed on Tuesday that the 55-year-old was known to them for several fraud- and theft related offenses and that he was unable to work due to poor mental health.
Security authorities found more gasoline during a search of the Cologne refugee accommodation where the suspect lives on Monday night but no immediate indication of any links to the "Islamic State" group as suggested by some media reports. Several data storage devices, including two cell phones, were confiscated.
The asylum seeker had lived in Germany continuously since 2015 with his son and brother, while his wife remained in Syria. An arrest warrant has been delivered to the currently hospitalized suspect for attempted murder in two instances and hostage taking.
