That's what it's about

• A 21-year-old American was attacked with a knife on a tram in Dresden.
• He tried to protect two women from harassment and suffered cuts to his face.
• Police arrested a 21-year-old Syrian but released him due to lack of evidence.

He wanted to protect women from harassment and became a victim himself: In Dresden, an American man was attacked with a knife and injured on a tram on Sunday night. The 21-year-old suffered cuts to his face. According to police, he intervened when two men harassed female passengers. One of the men then stabbed him. The incident occurred at a tram stop around 12:25 a.m.

The perpetrators fled after the attack. Police officers arrested a 21-year-old Syrian shortly thereafter. He and another as yet unknown suspect are being investigated for grievous bodily harm.

Suspect at large

According to the Bild newspaper, however, the public prosecutor's office decided to release the arrested man. Senior Public Prosecutor Jürgen Schmidt said:"According to the on-call public prosecutor's assessment, there were insufficient grounds for detention. The knife attack cannot be attributed to him. The actual knife attacker is still at large."

According to media reports, the victim is a model from the US state of New York. He has been living in Germany for several years after moving to live with his German father at the age of 17. According to his own statements, he worked for a time with the Dresden fire department and competed in mixed martial arts fights in East Germany.

The 21-year-old American posted on Instagram after the incident. In a video recorded in the hospital, he was seen with a blood-soaked bandage on his face. In it, he said:"If you don't believe that Europe, especially Germany, has an immigration problem, let me tell you something."

I'm recording this video at 11:57 p.m., and in three minutes, at the beginning of the next day, one of the attackers is released from police custody. This is what 'security' looks like in Germany in 2025, the victim explains further in his Instagram post.

You can find help here:

Police by canton

Counseling centers of Victim Support Switzerland

Lilli.ch, online counseling for young people

Women's shelters in Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Zwüschehalt, shelters for men

LGBT+ Helpline, Tel. 0800 133 133

Age without Violence, Tel. 0848 00 13 13

Lending Hand, Worry Hotline, Tel. 143

Pro Juventute, Counseling for Children and Young People, Tel. 147