Assailant attacks Turkish cafe in Germany with blank-firing pistol

BERLIN

An assailant has entered a cafe and fired six shots with a blank pistol at a Muslim female employee in southern Germany, in a suspected Islamophobic attack.

A dramatic video footage released on July 17 captured the moment when the man entered the cafe and immediately started shooting at the employee wearing a headscarf.

The police said the assailant used a blank pistol and the employee was unhurt in the incident.

Alper Yıldırmaz, the owner of the cafe in southern city of Heilbronn, told state-run Anadolu Agency that they have suspected the attack was racially motivated.

Germany has witnessed growing Islamophobia in recent years fueled by propaganda from far-right parties, which have exploited fears over the refugee crisis and terrorism.

The police recorded 1,075 Islamophobic crimes last year.