There’s been all kinds of theories about Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot accused of crashing the Germanwings plane last week.
There’s a report going around, published on a German blog, claiming that he was a Muslim.
Andrew C. McCarthy, who is a National Review contributing editor, tweeted a Gateway Pundit article (the Gateway Pundit oftentimes publishes borderline conspiracy theory articles with very misleading headinlines) last week. The Gateway Pundit article cited the German blog operated by Michael Mannheimer. The article about Lubitz said he was a Muslim convert. It was not on the blog as of Monday, but a screenshot of the translated article can be seen below:
As Gawker notes, the claims he was a Muslim are “sketchy as hell.”
The claim from Mannheimer goes in contrast to what investigators told the New York Times last week. They said there was no “indication of any political or religious motivation.”
Meanwhile, there was a fake Facebook page that was later taken down (screenshots were being shared of it) that said ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the Germanwings crash. The page, in French, says Lubitz was a “Hero of the Islamic State,” but it appears the page was created as a sick joke.
However, according to reports on Monday, it appears Lubitz may have been depressed and possibly had “suicidal tendencies.” Germany’s state prosecutors said he was in therapy before he got his pilot’s license.
“He was being treated by psychotherapist for what is documented as being suicidal tendencies at that time,” prosecutor Christoph Kumpa said, according to the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper.
He also had visited the doctors right up until the crash, but the visits did not involve anything to do with the alleged suicidal tendencies.
All 150 people on board the plane died in the crash. The plane hit a mountain in the French Alps last Tuesday.
“We don’t have a clue what was going through his mind,” said Dr. Simon Wessely, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London. “Even if we had all of his medical records and had conducted interviews with him, it would probably still be impossible to explain such an inexplicable act.”
Ripped-up sick notes from a doctor found at Lubitz’s home by German prosecutors suggest the 27-year-old had an illness he hid from his employers at Germanwings. Medical documents showed he had an existing illness — which wasn’t specified — but no suicide note was found. A Dusseldorf hospital confirmed Friday that Lubitz had been treated recently, but didn’t say for what.
Neighbors of Lubitz were shocked at allegations he could have deliberately smashed the plane and said he had seemed thrilled with his job at Germanwings. They described a man whose physical health was excellent and records show Lubitz took part in several long-distance runs. Germanwings said he had passed all required medical check-ups.
Some experts said it was possible that people who commit such horrific acts of violence might be suffering from mental illnesses like narcissism or psychosis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report,
