A suspect has been remanded in custody after a deadly attack on a man in a town in North Rhine Westphalia, the police and public prosecutor's office said in a statement on Thursday, unleashing calls for the suspect to be deported if his guilt is confirmed.
Police are investigating how many people were involved in the dispute that triggered the altercation, and what offenses were committed, in the incident that occurred on Saturday, the authorities said.
The main suspect, 18, has not yet commented on the charges of manslaughter and grievous bodily harm committed at the spa gardens of Bad Oeynhausen.
Investigations so far suggest the attack was carried out solely by the 18-year-old, a Syrian citizen living in Bad Oeynhausen who has been involved in offences relating to violence, property and narcotics in the past.
But police are also investigating a group of suspects that includes at least three Germans aged 18.
An autopsy confirmed officials' suspicion that the victim died of severe injuries in hospital after suffering several blows and kicks to the head.
The city was crowded when the victim, 20, and his companion, 19, were attacked, with a party underway in the city centre as people celebrated school graduation, a city spokesperson said.
As the suspect is Syrian, Mayor Lars Bökenkröger and other officials called for a review of the incident and consequences in a state and national scale, amid debate in Germany over the deportation of criminals from abroad.
The issue is currently being widely discussed after a series of incidents, and some have called for suspected terrorists and dangerous individuals who have immigrated to the country to be deported, also potentially to countries considered unsafe.
The debate began after a recent violent attack in Mannheim, where a knife-wielding migrant killed a policeman.
Lawmakers are weighing whether to allow deportations of serious criminals and people deemed Islamist extremists to countries including Syria and Afghanistan, for example.
The deputy leader of the Social Democrats parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Dirk Wiese, said the perpetrator must be held accountable for this with the full rigour of the law.
If it is confirmed that the 18-year-old who has been detained is Syrian who committed offences in the past, "he must be deported immediately after serving his sentence," Wiese said earlier, before the suspect's nationality was confirmed by the police and public prosecutor's office.