Police in Germany have arrested a 21-year-old Syrian national, and accused him of slashing hero American model John Rudat across the face after he stepped in to help two women being violently assaulted on a tram.
The migrant, who was previously taken into custody and then released on Sunday following the gruesome attack in Dresden, was re-arrested early Tuesday after new evidence came to light, police in the eastern German city said in a statement.
“Now that further investigation results are available, the 21-year-old Syrian, who was briefly in police custody on August 24, 2025, is also under strong suspicion of having been involved in the knife attack on the American and of having injured the victim with a dangerous object,” the statement reads.
“Upon learning of the new findings, the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office immediately ordered the provisional arrest of the 21-year-old suspect, which was carried out by the Dresden Police Department in the early hours of August 26, 2025.”
The Syrian national was previously allowed to walk free less than 12 hours after being arrested at a Dresden migrant shelter because prosecutors said there wasn’t enough evidence to tie him to the stabbing.
Rudat, 21, from Colonie, New York, took to Instagram with his face covered in bandages to decry Germany’s “immigration problem” in the wake of the horrible attack.
