American stabbed defending women on German tram criticizes immigration policies after suspect released

The American tourist who was stabbed in the face while protecting two women on a tram in Germany is speaking out about what he calls Europe’s “immigration problem.”

In an interview after his release from the hospital, 21-year-old John Rudat told “Fox & Friends First” Wednesday he believes the attack highlights Germany’s failure to address immigration. He said he later learned one of the suspects — a Syrian asylum seeker already known to police — was arrested, released by prosecutors and then re-arrested. Another suspect remains at large.

“People have been telling me over the past 10 years [that] it has been getting worse and worse and worse. And, since this incident, thousands of people, especially women, have reached out to me claiming that they haven’t been feeling safe on the trams. They haven’t been feeling safe in their own home city, their own country,” he said.

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“And I feel really bad for them because clearly, as I’m now seeing, it’s not only affecting the German citizens but the tourists going to Germany.”

According to an online fundraiser organized by his brother’s girlfriend, Rudat stepped in when two Syrian men allegedly began attacking women on a tram in Dresden on Sunday. He sustained a stab wound to the face from one of the suspects carrying a six-inch blade, leaving him bloodied and bandaged.

Authorities arrested a 21-year-old Syrian accused of beating Rudat before the stabbing, but he was later released, German outlet Bild reported, according to the New York Post. 

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Senior Public Prosecutor Jürgen Schmidt said there were “insufficient grounds for detention” and that the knife attack “cannot be attributed to him.” That decision prompted Rudat to criticize Europe’s immigration policies in an Instagram post.

After new information emerged, authorities re-arrested the suspect, according to the Associated Press.

Rudat’s facial wounds were visible during his Fox News appearance, but he said he feels much better since being released from the hospital.

“The unconditional support I’ve seemed to get from the German people has been nothing but refreshing and sustaining for my recovery, and hopefully it’ll be even quicker because of it,” he said.

His part-time modeling career is on hold because of the wounds, he added.

In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Berlin condemned the attack.

“While courageously intervening to protect a fellow passenger, he was viciously attacked,” the embassy wrote on X. “We urge German authorities to swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice and punish them to the fullest extent permitted by law. Safety is a collective responsibility—no one is safe until all are safe.”

Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.