German police hunt Algerian patient who yelled 'I'll blow you up'
BERLIN (Reuters) - Police in Bremen, Germany, on Wednesday hunted for a 19-year-old Algerian refugee who had fled a psychiatric facility earlier in the day yelling, "I'll blow you up," but said they had no evidence he had any violent plans or ties to Islamist groups. Police said that when the man was in custody this past weekend for several thefts, he had sympathised with Islamic State and a gunman who killed nine people at a shopping centre in Munich last Friday. But they said there was no further evidence of any ties. It was the latest incident to cause jitters in Germany after a spate of attacks that have claimed 15 lives since July 18, including those of four attackers. German officials have linked two of the incidents to Islamic State. Authorities evacuated a shopping centre in Bremen, about 40 km from the medical facility, after people identified a man who had been acting suspiciously as the missing patient. A spokesman in Diepholz, where the man had been held by police, said authorities were taking the incident seriously given the current situation in Germany, but emphasised that there was no evidence of an imminent attack. "We only have these statements. We have no evidence of any concrete plans or even any ties to Islamic State," he said. The man was moved into psychiatric care after he tried to hurt himself multiple times and authorities determined he had consumed drugs and posed a possible danger to himself and others. He escaped from the facility early on Wednesday. Police in Bremen said they were continuing to scour the shopping centre for the man, who may have been carrying a backpack, and any objects he might have left behind. There were no reports that he was carrying a weapon, they said. Earlier, a suitcase exploded near a reception centre for migrants in southern Germany, but authorities said the blast may have been caused by an aerosol can, and there was no sign of any explosives involved. (Reporting by Ralf Bode and Andrea Shalal; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Matthew Lewis)
