A 15-year-old youth was arrested in Berlin, who is said to have robbed and beat a 75-year-old pensioner on Tuesday, so that she later died of her serious injuries.

The police were able to arrest the young person, who is known to the police as a “neighbourhood-oriented multiple offender”, after he attacked an elderly woman again on Wednesday.

The alleged perpetrator has Bulgarian nationality, as the police told the FAZ.

According to the police, the 75-year-old pensioner was spoken to on the sidewalk in the Gesundbrunnen district shortly after seven in the morning when she was taking a short break.

The perpetrator suddenly hit her in the face and snatched the shopping bag from her until the handles ripped off and she fell.

He rode off on a bicycle with the loot.

Rescue workers were called and took the elderly woman to a hospital with a thigh fracture and injuries to her face, where she underwent immediate surgery but later succumbed to her injuries.

On Wednesday, a 79-year-old woman was robbed in the neighboring district of Reinickendorf.

The young suspect brought her down on the sidewalk from behind around noon at a quarter to twelve, hit her in the face with his fist and snatched her handbag, police and prosecutors said.

With the help of a passer-by, police officers who searched the surrounding area were able to place the youth in a nearby residential area.

The 79-year-old woman suffered minor injuries and received outpatient treatment.

Some of the loot found near the crime scene could be returned to her.

According to the homicide investigations conducted so far, the arrested man, who has only been under criminal responsibility for a year, is also the perpetrator of the fatal robbery on Tuesday.

He was to be brought before the Tiergarten district court on Thursday in order to obtain custody due to the risk of recurrence.

The assumption of the risk of recurrence is necessary so that pre-trial detention can be imposed on the accused, even though he is younger than 16 years.

The classification as "multiple offenders" is a police term, it is a precursor to "intensive offenders".

This refers to young people who commit criminal acts of violence with a high degree of intensity and who seem to be consolidating a criminal career.

In the case of intensive offenders, the police assume at least ten crimes a year.