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LAST UPDATE | 20 Feb 2020
A GERMAN MAN has shot and killed nine people at several locations in a Frankfurt suburb in attacks that appear to have been motivated by far-right beliefs, officials said.
The man suspected of carrying out two shootings in the city of Hanau has been found dead at his home.
Officers also found another body at the same address in the early hours of Thursday. German media, including public broadcaster ARD, has reported that the second body discovered at the property belonged to the man’s mother.
Nine people were killed and five wounded in the shootings in and outside two hookah lounges in the southwestern German city yesterday evening at around 10pm.
Police gave no details of the suspected gunman but said “there are currently no indications of further perpetrators”.
Bild newspaper is reporting that the suspect was a German citizen with a firearms license. It also reported that ammunition and gun magazines were found in the man’s car.
Witnesses and surveillance videos of the suspect’s getaway car led authorities to his home, near the scene of the second attack, where he was found dead near his 72-year-old mother, said Peter Beuth, the interior minister for the state of Hesse.
A website believed to be the 43-year-old suspect’s is being evaluated, Mr Beuth said.
“Initial analysis of the webpage of the suspect indicate a xenophobic motivation,” he added.
He said federal prosecutors have taken over the investigation of the crime and are treating it as an act of domestic terrorism.
“This is an attack on our free and peaceful society,” he said.
City centre attack
The first attack was at the Midnight shisha bar in the centre of the city, while a second shooting took place at the Arena Bar.
It’s been reported that those killed in the first bar were of Kurdish origin.
Officers sealed off and searched an apartment in the Kesselstadt district, near the scene of one of the shootings, after following up witness statements on a getaway car.
German counter-terror prosecutors said this morning that they had taken over the investigation into the two shootings.
German news agency dpa reported that investigators are examining a video the suspect may have posted online several days earlier in which he detailed a conspiracy theory about child abuse in the US.
This morning Henry Faltin, a spokesman for police in south-eastern Hesse state, where Hanau is located, declined to comment on the dpa claim, or the report by the Bild that ammunition was also found in the suspect’s vehicle.
Officers sealed off and searched the apartment in the Kesselstadt district, near one of the shootings, after following up witness statements on a getaway car.
Police said work to confirm the identities of the two bodies at the home was under way, and they could not immediately give details on them or the identities of the earlier victims.
“Federal prosecutors have taken over because of the particular importance of the case,” a spokesman said, adding that “there are signs of a xenophobic motive” for the killings.
Earlier, police officers swarmed central Hanau, cordoning off the area of one of the shootings as a helicopter hovered overhead.
A car covered in thermal foil also could be seen, with shattered glass next to it. Forensic experts in white overalls collected evidence.
‘Terrible crime’
“Thoughts this morning are with the people of Hanau, in whose midst this terrible crime was committed,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said on Twitter.
“Deep sympathy for the affected families, who are grieving for their dead,” the spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said. “We hope with those wounded that they will soon recover.”
Hanau Mayor Claus Kaminsky told the Bild newspaper: “This was a terrible evening that will certainly occupy us for a long, long time and we will remember with sadness.”
Katja Leikert, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right party who represents Hanau in the German parliament, tweeted that it was “a real horror scenario for us all”.
Hanau is a large town located in southwestern Germany, about 20km east of Frankfurt. It has about 100,000 inhabitants.
Germany has been targeted in recent years by several extremist attacks, one of which killed 12 people in the heart of Berlin in December 2016.
Far-right attacks have become a particular concern for German authorities.
In October, a gun attack in the eastern city of Halle on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur left two people dead, while in June German politician Walter Luebcke, who supported welcoming refugees, was shot at his home.
- with reporting from the AFP
Isn’t it mad that we share a world with the same species that woke up this morning and thought, today’s the day I’m going to open fire on innocent people going about their day to day Life, destroy families and cause a lifetime of grief. Madness!!
@Peter Cavey: Ditto Peter. Try sleep well. It’s a mad mad mad mad world.
@Mick Andrews: there are 7.6bn of us and most are good or brilliant. The media only report on the dirt. It’s not a bad world really.
@Peter Cavey: The far right after more of a threat than any other terrorist group
@Ossi Fritsche:
True, Islamic State have destroyed thousands of lives in the last decade.
@Ossi Fritsche: I would fear the far left more. History has proven that.
@Gerard Casserly: what history would that be Gerard?
@Adam Sheridan: Lenin, Stalin Bolshevik Russia, Communist China and South east Asia.
@Adam Sheridan: Human history Adam.
Gosh, sometimes this world is a sad place. So much going on which defies belief in goodness. May those who died be at peace now and hoping that those injured make a full recovery.
Before this article gets overrun with racist “durrr religion of peace!” comments, it’s worth noting that the shooters targeted customers at two shisha bars. Infer from that what you will. RIP to all the innocent victims who lost their lives just socialising with their friends.
@Jacinta: is religion a race now? I’m just trying to figure out how disparaging a religion, is racist.
@Damo Dempsey: good point.
@Damo Dempsey: ever been to Israel
@Anthony Doyle: ye
@Paula Leavy: where were you educated?
@Damo Dempsey: the point is lost on you as it is on many others that Islam is in the practiced by people of colour and where there’s been a history of Western colonialism and occupation so attacking their religion is an easy target instead of being openly racist. A parallel can be drawn with the anti Catholic bigotry that Irish and Italian immigrants in the US experienced in the 19th century from
@Agenda21: somewhere that didn’t tolerate racist apologists. I see my comment got deleted, sadly the comment section of the journal is where racists love to hang out
@Damo Dempsey: again it case you missed it
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/networks/european_migration_network/glossary_search/racism_en
@Conor Kennelly: It’s racist to suggest that Islam is only practiced by people of colour, no?
@Damo Dempsey: The way that most racists/sectarians/xenophobes (usually all three) ‘know’ that their victim is a Muslim, is due to either their skin colour or their ‘dark sounding’ name. That’s racist, xenophobic and sectarian. It’s not one or the other labels, it’s usually a combination.
@Anthony Doyle: yes. 1990. Why do you ask?
@Conor Kennelly: actually, I didn’t miss the point, and your assumption is fallacious.
Religions have nothing to do with race, that was merely my point. And it’s a fact.
@Paula Leavy: Thanks for that link. Probing religions have nothing to do with race. Or maybe you can answer one simple question, and out this to bed. What race is a Muslim. Thanks.
@Seamus O Shea: ask Lisa Smith, again, religions have nothing to do with race. You do know there are white Muslims, Asian Muslims, black Muslims ect act, right?
There is of course a chance this was criminals doing what they do and may have nothing at all to do with race or religion. Could be a drugs feud. Point is theres so little information right now every comment is pure speculation so until I hear some more I’ll leave it at respectful thoughts for the families about to hear their loved ones are dead. RIP
@Mick Murphy: will we get the full story though… That’s the question
@Mick Murphy: Yeahhhhhh, probably just depressed. Certainly has nothing to do with the fact that he owned and ran a nazi website as mentioned in the article!!!
Kurds v Russians on Twitter.
Terrible
Media reporting far right terrorism. The murderer left a note stating his desire to exterminate certain groups of people who cannot be expelled from Germany
@Anne Marie Devlin: Media also reporting he shot his mother at home. Was that far right terrorism?
@JimmyMc: Media reporting he left notes supporting far right terrorism
@DJ François: also reporting he supported Bayern Munich and was a big fan of Kraftwerk
@JimmyMc: it seems you just can’t handle the fact that your side is just as violent as the side you are chomping at the bit to blame this attack on. Sad.
@darrenphughes: what has this got to do with libertarians?
@JimmyMc: you’re fooling no one bud. Your prejudices are out for all to see.
@JimmyMc: Perfect example of a logical fallacy
Rising tension
What a horrible world we live in, families torn apart, so sad. RIP
Problem with the Government and Kill innocent people. If you have a problem with the government don’t kill Citizens
As more and more people support anti immigrant sentiment on social media it gives legitimacy to the cowards that carry out such attacks. Saw a lot of support for anti immigrant sentiment on the comments section yesterday. This was a racist attack carried out by a right wing supporter who wanted immigrants to leave his country as confirmed by German police
IMO, Turkish or M/E:
“Shots were fired at two hookah lounge areas in the centre of the town” (see above article)
@Moorooka Mick: You mean the people being targeted, yes?
The levels of far-right extremism are all the charts, when are people going to start paying attention!!
Another brutal atrocitie that will leave scores of people in mourning, there will be revenge attacks and the cycle of hatred will go on and on.
These attackers are weak minded fools that the different factions use as tools to accomplish their vicious goals.
My thoughts are with those left behind to grieve the loss of their family , loved ones, friends.
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