Robbery at Bonn Motel One Employees in shock
Bonn · After the robbery of the Motel One in Bonn early Monday morning, the employees are in shock. The police are now looking for witnesses in order to identify the perpetrator.
A still unknown man robbed the Motel One at the main railway station at around 6.35 a.m. on Monday morning. According to the police, he forced the handover of money at knifepoint. A few moments later, the man left the scene in an unknown direction. He stowed the loot in a plastic bag. A search for the man was immediately initiated but was unsuccessful.
The robbery was a "very bad thing" for the two employees involved, says hotel manager Görge Henrich. He is also responsible for the Motel One Bonn-Beethoven at Berliner Freiheit. "The employees are in shock and still have to digest this," he says in response to a GA question. A certain feeling of insecurity will probably remain for a while.
For the hotel manager, the amount of money stolen, which he does not want to comment on, referring to the ongoing police investigation, is therefore secondary for the time being: "The well-being of the staff is the most important thing to me first.“
Henrich emphasises that there is a comprehensive security concept in the hotel, such as regulations on when and how rooms and doors are to be locked. It also includes its own security service, which is on duty around the clock. There is also extensive video surveillance. The recordings of the robbery are now being analysed by the police.
Extreme situation for all
Nevertheless, Henrich will use the robbery as an opportunity to better train and prepare employees for such extreme situations, which are certainly the exception: "I think this is a topic that has been neglected in the industry for a long time. After all, it was the first robbery in the two-year-old Motel One at the station. He has now taken this as an opportunity to exchange information with other hotel managers in his circle of acquaintances in order to sensitise them to similar situations in their hotels. According to the Bonn police, it is rather rare that a hotel is the target of a robbery.
Even though the hotel is located in the immediate vicinity of the railway station and well-known scene meeting places of homeless people and drug dealing, Henrich takes up the cudgels for the location: "We feel very comfortable here in the middle of the city and also see ourselves as an open house, with a high fluctuation of guests." In the past, he says, there have often been contacts with problem clientele, but this has "been reduced to a completely normal level" over time, thanks in part to the security service.
Witnesses say that the perpetrator, who is about 30 years old and has an athletic build, is between 1.85 and 1.95 metres tall. During the robbery he was wearing a black, thick quilted jacket, black trousers, white sneakers and a black backpack.
The police can be contacted at 0228/15-0 or by e-mail at KK13.Bonn@polizei.nrw.de.
(Original text: Axel Vogel; Translation: Mareike Graepel)
