Story By: Koen Berghuis, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Picture Credit: Golders & Golders/@davidtequila

A national judo champion who has his entire body tattooed with religious images has been arrested for attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a man in his neck in a drunken brawl.

German judo champion David Tekic, 23, was arrested after he tried to fly back into the country.

Police spokeswoman Evi Theodoriou said: “He was arrested while trying to enter the country through Hanover Airport.”

When police officers checked Tekic’ passport they found an international arrest warrant was issued against him.

The arrest warrant was issued after witnesses of a nightclub stabbing identified Tekic as the suspect.

The incident took place on Christmas Eve 2017 in the early morning at the square in front of Hamburg’s Dammtor suburban railway station, located close to the infamous St. Pauli red light and nightlife district.

After reportedly spending a long night partying at top Hamburg night club “The Room” in the Radisson Blu hotel, Tekic encountered a 25-year-old man on the square.

After a violent brawl which was started for yet unknown reason the two each went their own way.

According to police investigators, Tekic, however, returned with a knife and “deliberately stabbed the victim” in his neck.

The victim was rushed to a hospital where doctors managed to save his life thanks to emergency surgery.

After the incident, Tekic fled back to his native country of Serbia where he was born, from where he frequently posted pictures showing off his muscled body and tattoos and continuing his daily work-out regime.

Tekic’s body is fully tattooed from his neck to his legs, with many of the tattoos sporting a religious theme such as a conspicuous image of Serbian King Stefan Dusan on his neck with the word ‘Orthodoxy’ written above it.

Dusan is known in Serbia for promoting the Orthodox Church, the expansion of Serbian culture and empire, and his frequent battles with the Ottomans.

Tekic arrived in 1996 in Germany with his parents. 

After a rocky start, in which the family “lived for six months in a garage” according to Tekic himself, he managed to attend an elite sports academy and train to become a judo star.

In 2016 Tekic was crowned German champion with his Hamburg judo team. He participated at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest for the German national team.

Tekic is currently locked up in investigative custody and the investigations are ongoing.