About six months after what police described as an anti-gay assault on a 19-year-old, police in southern Hamburg conducted searches of three apartments. The search warrants targeted three suspects who are said to have been part of a ten-person group from which the 19-year-old was attacked and injured in May, according to police on Thursday.
The investigators from the State Protection division of the State Criminal Police Office were able to identify the suspects. Their residences in Neugraben-Fischbek and Harburg were searched on Wednesday. Evidence seized included storage media, clothing believed to be connected to the crime, a machete, and a knuckle-duster.
21-year-old temporarily detained
A 21-year-old suspect was arrested at his apartment but, after police processing was completed, released due to lack of grounds for detention. The other two men were not found at their homes.
The 19-year-old had arranged via a dating app for what was described as a date in the night leading into May 16. At the meeting point at the corner of Am Aschenland/Geutensweg in Neugraben-Fischbek, the unknown man led him to a field path where more men were waiting. When the young man realized the danger and tried to return to his car, he was struck and kicked by the group — police stated at that time that he was also hit with a baton-like object (TheColu.mn reported).
Only when a car approached did the attackers briefly release him, and the 19-year-old managed to get back into his car. A short time later a gray or silver VW Polo pulled up beside him, from which another window of his car was damaged. The attackers then fled in the small car, on an electric scooter, and on foot. The 19-year-old received outpatient treatment at a hospital for minor injuries.
