German Government Reaction to Brutal Attack on German-Ethiopian in Potsdam

A few days ago, a German citizen of Ethiopian origin was viciously assaulted late at night. Apparently, the victim, who is currently in an induced coma and still in mortal danger, managed to reach his wife's voicemail by cell phone during the attack. In the background of the recording, one can hear people yelling racist slurs. A taxi driver intervened in the scene and chased away two men. According to his testimony, they seemed to have been skinheads or other right-wing extremists (bomber jackets, very short hair...fairly plausible conclusion given the context). This is what CDU Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble had to say, quoted in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung:

„Wir wissen die Motive nicht, wir kennen die Täter nicht“, sagte Schäuble noch am Donnerstag im Deutschlandradio Kultur. „Es werden auch blonde blauäugige Menschen Opfer von Gewalttaten, zum Teil sogar von Tätern, die möglicherweise nicht die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit haben.“

[We don't know what the motives were; we don't know who the perpetrators are. People with blond hair and blue eyes are also victims of violence, in part even by perpetrators who possibly do not have German citizenship].

An unbelievable remark, no? He should be censured by Angela Merkel.

In the meantime, the German police have arrested two suspects. Their initial indictment notes that xenophobia and right-wing extremism were highly likely motives in the attack on the victim.