A medical practice was thrown into turmoil when a patient’s father lunged at a surgeon with a knife, shouting “Allahu akhbar” and threatening to behead him.
The incident took place in the town of Troisdorf on Monday morning. Speaking with FOCUS Online, Dr. Attila Tan, the surgeon who was attacked, recounted his horrific experience.
He said: “The patient came in at 10am, accompanied by his girlfriend, who was veiled. He radiated aggression, which increased when I began to treat him,”
The man was released from the practice in mid-July, having undergone treatment for a broken leg, but returned on Monday in pain.
Dr. Tan said: “I explained everything to him, and even showed him exercises he should do. But he didn’t listen to me at all.”
The 19 year old then stormed out of the practice, before returning with his brother and father, who was armed with a knife which had a 30cm serrated blade.
The surgeon was operating on another patient when his wife called for help at the practice’s reception. The men had attacked and insulted Dr. Tan’s wife, one of them throwing a marble bust at her, which narrowly missed.
The father of the man with the broken leg rushed at Dr. Tan, with a knife, and shouted “Allahu akhbar” before threatening to behead the surgeon.
The sons of the attacker then held Dr. Tan down. The doctor told Focus Online: “Their father kept screaming at me — ‘Apologise to my son, get on your knees and kiss his hand’.”
Panic broke out in the practice, with one 82-year-old patient even jumping through the window to escape the violence. Police arrived before the confrontation could escalate as, when the father and sons trio stormed the practice, some patients and colleagues of Dr. Tan had left to notify the authorities.
One witness recalled: “We heard things flying around, and screams and stuff. Then three times ‘Allahu akbar’ was shouted. At that moment I thought, it’s all over. I thought he killed Dr. Tan and his wife.”
Officers arrested the 19 year old and his girlfriend, but the man’s father and brother managed to flee the scene. Accompanied by a lawyer, the pair later presented themselves at the police station on Monday evening. Dr. Tan’s wife had to be hospitalised after witnessing the morning’s events, as she had suffered a heart attack.
On Tuesday a patient shot a doctor before committing suicide at a Berlin hospital. Germany remains in a state of high alert after the country has been struck by four serious attacks within the span of a week.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.