Police in Germany have arrested a 21-year-old Syrian national and accused him of involvement in the savage attack on American model John Rudat, who was beaten up and slashed across the face after he stepped in to help two women being violently assaulted on a tram.
The migrant, identified only as Majid A., 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.He appeared before a judge at the Dresden District Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody, German outlet Bild reported.Wearing a grey Adidas hoodie and black sweatpants reading “Hoodrich,” he was pictured smirking as he was led into court by armed police.
“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 from police reads.
The scene of a violent altercation on a German tram on Sunday, August 24, 2025. xcitepress/florian varga
American hero John Rudat was severely injured after stepping in to help two women from being attacked in Germany on Sunday, August 24, 2025. Instagram/@nico.wtgl
A scene of the aftermath of the attack on a German tram. xcitepress/florian varga“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 statement continues.
Male model John Rudat was brutally injured after trying to help two women from being attacked on a tram on Sunday, August 24, 2025. Instagram/@john.rudat“The Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office filed an application for an arrest warrant against the suspect with the investigating judge of the Dresden District Court, which the investigating judge issued and executed as requested. The suspect is now in pretrial detention.”
The investigation is set to take some time, the prosecutor’s office warned.
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.
The heroic American tourist was slashed in the face during the attack. Instagram / @john.rudatVideo footage purportedly shows Majid beating 21-year-old Rudat, from Colonie, New York, before his accomplice then approached him, pulled out a knife, and slashed him across the face, Bild reports.
Majid was carrying what police called a “dangerous object” in his fist, meaning his actions have now been classified as dangerous assault.
Police at the scene of the attack on Sunday, August 24, 2025. xcitepress/florian vargaThe accomplice who slashed Rubat in the face remains at large.
Rudat was rushed by ambulance to Dresden University Hospital, where he received stitches for the gaping wound to his face.
Model John Rudat was injured after trying to help two women in Germany on Sunday, August 24, 2025. GofundmeHe later took to Instagram with his face covered in bandages to decry Germany’s “immigration problem” in the wake of the horrible attack.Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), the anti-immigration right-wing party which is currently the second-largest in the state parliament for Saxony, where where Dresden is located, has called for a “deportation offensive” in the wake of the attack.
“Ten years after Merkel’s ‘We can do it!’ slogan, Germany is considered a no-go zone abroad. Because the CDU didn’t want to achieve anything—it left its citizens to deal with the problems it caused. Really close the borders, launch a deportation offensive now!” the AfD said.
