A Molotov Cocktail and Hostage-Taking at a McDonald’s in Cologne

There was some sort of firebomb attack and a hostage situation today in a McDonald’s restaurant in the mall area of the main train station in Cologne. As of this point, it’s not clear how or whether the standoff was resolved.

According to MissPiggy, who translated the video and ancillary material, the culprit was said to have detonated a Molotov cocktail in a fast food restaurant, injuring the 14-year-old girl.

More information:

Cologne: ‘Islamic State Sympathiser’ Takes Hostage, Sets Fires

  • He had set a 14-year-old girl’s shoes and legs on fire with an incendiary device
  • He also apparently wanted to set the kidnapped woman on fire

According to police, the perpetrator proclaimed allegiance to the terrorist militia ISIS. He called that out to passers-by. The police are investigating all leads. This also includes a possible terrorist background.

According to police, an ID document was found at the scene, which was issued to a 55-year-old Syrian. It was not yet definitively confirmed whether it belongs to the hostage-taker who was critically injured during the police operation.

You won’t get all those culture-enriching details from this MSM news video, however:

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript:

00:00   Liv von Boetticher is on location and on the phone. Liv, do you have any new
00:06   information about the current situation? There is mounting evidence
00:11   that in the McDonald’s which is near the pharmacy there was an incident
00:15   in which a young girl was set on fire by an unknown man.
00:24   The eyewitnesses with whom I have spoken reported that her foot was on fire.
00:29   The girl then ran screaming for help, and trying to save herself she ran into the
00:33   pharmacy. And there it became a hostage situation; as far as we understand, it was
00:41   not the same victim from McDonald’s. The hostage was not the girl set on fire, who is
00:46   now in the hospital, however that’s not confirmed. It was a further victim. The
00:51   police and all available operational forces have gathered in Breslauer Square.
00:58   A square directly in front of the main train station in Cologne with a subway
01:02   entrance, Breslauer Square. The firefighters are here with large ranks. Rescue workers
01:08   are here with a large roster. The police continue to arrive with other forces,
01:15   including heavily armed police, but also crisis intervention, presumably
01:20   psychologists to help calm the hostage situation in some way.
01:26   Just need to ask again, from where did you get this information now with this incident
01:31   in the McDonald’s? Does it comes directly from the police or from eyewitness reports
01:36   and, yes, how sure is that this actually happened to the girl?
01:40   Up until now, the police have only confirmed that there was a hostage
01:45   situation in the pharmacy. I spoke with eyewitnesses who were in the McDonald’s
01:49   and saw what happened. I was near the McDonald’s and saw large amounts
01:55   of water coming from under the doors, which indicates a fire triggered the sprinkler
02:02   system inside the McDonald’s. It is probable that something else was set on
02:06   fire, but that is speculation at the moment. —Please help me understand this: in other
02:16   words, first there was the incident in McDonald’s and then the alleged culprit
02:20   took someone else as a hostage in the pharmacy? How do you construe the
02:27   series of events up until now? After everything I have learned from
02:32   different sides, it appears that a young girl, approximately 15 years old was attacked
02:43   in McDonald’s. She was, in some manner, set on fire. Witnesses told me earlier
02:53   that they saw a bottle of flammable liquid, which I cannot confirm at the moment.
02:59   There are wild rumours springing up everywhere, but still, it appears to have
03:05   actually resulted in a fire with smoke, because the sprinkler system in the
03:12   McDonald’s was activated. Large amounts of water are coming out of the McDonald’s.
03:16   The eyewitnesses also reported that the girl was screaming for help and ran outside.
03:23   The pharmacy in which the hostage situation is happening is approximately
03:28   Nine yards away from the McDonald’s. The witnesses also said that the girl ran into the
03:37   pharmacy for help or at least was near the pharmacy. How the culprit
03:42   was able to take someone hostage, and if he followed the girl to the pharmacy,
03:52   I am not able to tell you at the moment. The witness I spoke to told me the girl that was
03:59   set on fire has been taken to the hospital, but that has not been confirmed by the
04:03   police. So, for that reason, it is all very speculative.
04:07   Liv von Boetticher, nevertheless, thank you. At the main train station in
04:12   Cologne. You will keep us informed. Thank you.
 

3 thoughts on “A Molotov Cocktail and Hostage-Taking at a McDonald’s in Cologne

  1. Wow, newspeak in German, “ein vermutlich unbekannter Mann” = “a probably unknown man” may be the perpetrator.

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