Shooting near Frankfurt Racist attack in Hanau: Gunman kills ten people

Hanau · A 43-year-old gunman shot and killed ten people in the city of Hanau near Frankfurt. Many victims are believed to have foreign roots. Investigators suspect it was a far-right attack. The sports marksman is said to have spread hatred of foreigners and conspiracy theories on the net.

 At least ten were killed in a far-right attack in Hanau near Frankfurt.

At least ten were killed in a far-right attack in Hanau near Frankfurt.

Foto: dpa/Boris Roessler

In an alleged right-wing extremist and racist attack, a 43-year-old German in Hanau near Frankfurt shot and killed ten people and himself. The Federal Prosecutor-General took up the case on Thursday night and is investigating on suspicion of terrorism.

According to the authorities, the suspected shooter Tobias R. is from Hanau. Ten people died in the violence that took place late Wednesday evening at no fewer than four different crime scenes in Hanau, said Hesse's Minister of the Interior Peter Beuth (CDU) in the state parliament in Wiesbaden on Thursday. After the attack, the sports marksman shot and killed his mother and then himself in his own home. Several others were injured in the attacks, one of them seriously. The victims are said to be mainly people with foreign roots.

The Federal Public Prosecutor General classified the crime as "suspected terrorist violence", Beuth said. The suspected perpetrator was, according to initial findings, a sports marksman who legally possessed the weapons.

The Minister of the Interior of the state of Hesse explained that the gunman opened fire in two shisha bars and a kiosk late Wednesday night. Shots were also fired at a car. Beuth said that the police are currently evaluating the homepage of the 43-year-old Hanauer. "First findings in examining the homepage of the alleged perpetrator indicate a xenophobic motive", said the Minister of the Interior.

After a telephone call from the federal and state interior ministers, the Bavarian head of department Joachim Herrmann said: "The current state of investigation is that it concerns a 43-year-old German who shot and killed a number of people, mostly from abroad, last night. In this respect, we must assume, also on the basis of material found, that this has a right-wing extremist, xenophobic background.”

It will now be assessed whether the upcoming carnival processions in Germany and meeting places of migrants need more protection, Herrmann said. The federal and state interior ministers agreed on this. "For we know from past experience that, in principle, such acts can also spur on copycat acts." Herrmann also reported that the 43-year-old had lived in Bavaria for a time.

Hesse's Minister of the Interior Beuth said that the man had probably acted alone. "So far there are no indications of other perpetrators." Beuth condemned the act: "It is an attack on our free and peaceful society." The suspected perpetrator was not previously known to police and had not been known as "xenophobic".

After the crime, the suspected perpetrator was found dead in his home. The investigators assume that the man shot his 72-year-old mother and then himself. "Both had gunshot wounds, the murder weapon was found on the suspected perpetrator," Beuth said.

Hesse's Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) said that it was shocking, it rendered him speechless and made him "infinitely sad". He added: "We are now in a situation in which we know some things, but many things we do not yet know," Bouffier. He called on citizens to not speculate as it was too early to assess the situation.

Bouffier said that he had already phoned Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) in the morning to inform her about the current findings. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU), Hesse's Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) and Bouffier will travel to Hanau in the course of the day.

A few days before the crime, the suspected perpetrator had published a video on Youtube, according to information from security circles. In this video the man speaks in fluent English of a "personal message to all Americans". The clip, which could be seen further on the Internet on Thursday morning, was apparently recorded in a private apartment.

In the video, the man says that in the USA there are underground military facilities where children are mistreated and killed, and the devil is worshipped. He says American citizens should wake up and fight against these conditions "now". A reference to his imminent act of violence in Germany is not included in the video. He also claims that Germany is controlled by a secret service. He also made negative comments about migrants from Arab countries and Turkey.

According to investigators, the first shots were fired on Wednesday evening at around 10:00 p.m. Later in the night, passers-by at Heumarkt in Hanau's city center kept gazing at the scene, stunned at the cordoned-off crime scene. Not far away in a side street, there were bullet casings on the sidewalk. Only about two kilometers away, in the Kesselstadt district, there is another crime scene. Shots were also fired there.

One of the crime scenes was a shisha bar at Heumarkt, a street that lies somewhat on the outskirts of Hanau's city center with its approximate 100,000 inhabitants. It is an area with amusement arcades, betting shops and kebab snack bars. Another crime scene is almost within walking distance, by car it is only about five minutes away. Kurt-Schumacher-Platz is in a residential area. There is a kiosk on the ground floor of an apartment block, with the inscription "24/7 Kiosk" on the large glass pane, and an illuminated advertising sign says "Arena Bar&Café”.

Chancellor Angela Merkel cancelled a planned visit to Saxony-Anhalt because of the violent crime and will not travel to Halle this Thursday for another event, government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said on Twitter. "The Chancellor will be kept informed of the progress of the investigation in Hanau."

Earlier he had tweeted: "Our thoughts are with the people in Hanau this morning, in whose midst a horrible crime was committed". He added: "Deepest sympathy goes to the families concerned, who mourn for their dead." Seibert expressed the hope that the injured will soon recover.

Translation: ck

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