A 48-year-old man has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of carrying out a series of sabotage attacks on the country's electricity grid. The arrest took place near the Weisweiler power plant in western Germany on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, after the suspect had been on the run for several days.
Police in Cologne stated that the suspect was carrying explosives when detained, and a tent in nearby undergrowth was also found to be rigged with further explosives. The suspect, identified by German media as Daniel V, is believed to have written letters claiming responsibility for the attacks.
These incidents, which have occurred in Brandenburg, Saxony, and North Rhine-Westphalia, have followed a similar pattern. Rockets were reportedly used to shoot wires across high-voltage cables, causing short circuits and temporarily taking power-generating units at some plants off the grid. Interior Minister Armin Schuster acknowledged that a regional blackout could have resulted from the attacks in Saxony alone, where police found 21 devices near high-voltage power lines last Friday and Saturday.