Explosions in Offenbach and Frankfurt: Police investigate after attacks

There was another arson attack on a café in Offenbach early on Sunday morning. As the police report, the sound of an explosion was heard on Frankfurter Strasse around 4:45 a.m. The force damaged the window panes of a bar and a café opposite. Both restaurants are in the same building complex. Nobody was injured.

At almost the same time, an explosion in Frankfurt destroyed a kiosk in the Sachsenhausen district not far from the Südbahnhof. According to police, witnesses heard a loud bang at around 4:55 a.m. Panes shattered there too.

It is unclear whether there is a connection between the crimes. In both cases, the police assume, based on the evidence, that the explosives were intentionally planted; the criminal police have begun investigations in Offenbach and Frankfurt. No information can yet be given about the amount of damage, and the background to the crimes is still unclear, she said. The Offenbach police are hoping for information from witnesses or people in the know.

A police spokeswoman said that the affected shisha bar was probably the actual target of the attack and that the café was affected. However, this has not yet been finally clarified. The owners of the café let their guests know via Instagram on Sunday morning that the business would remain closed for the time being. The alleged bar owner could not be reached by phone.

According to the Offenbach police spokeswoman, there is still no information about the perpetrator or perpetrators. There were several similar incidents in the Rhine-Main area last year. In Offenbach, a shisha bar and a restaurant were affected. There have also been similar arson attacks in Darmstadt.

Young people who were recruited via social media were arrested several times as perpetrators. In the spring, for example, a 15-year-old Dutch man had to answer before the Frankfurt regional court for similar acts; he had been recruited via Snapchat. In the past, the police suspected that those behind the attack were seeking protection money, possibly also business differences or involvement in drug-related crime.