Upper Palatinate: Suspect arrested after fatal shots fired during weapons inspection
A 60-year-old is suspected of shooting two local authority employees in Berngau during a routine inspection. He was arrested in the night after hours of negotiations.
Police apprehend gunman after major operation overnight
Two employees of the Neumarkt district administration were shot during a weapons inspection in Berngau (Upper Palatinate). According to zdfheute.de, the 60-year-old suspect was arrested in the night after a lengthy operation.
The inspectors — a 45-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman — wanted to check on Thursday afternoon around 2 p.m. whether the man was storing his firearms properly. Rather than allow the inspection, the suspect opened fire on both of them. The 45-year-old lay lifeless in front of his house; the 54-year-old was found inside the building. According to police, she died immediately from the gunshot wounds.
Witnesses alerted the emergency services around 2 p.m. A large contingent of Bavarian police responded: a special operations unit, armoured vehicles and a helicopter. The suspect barricaded himself in his flat, contacted the control centre by telephone and announced that he would not surrender without resistance.
Hours passed. Negotiation specialists attempted to persuade the man to give up — without success. At around 2:20 a.m., emergency responders forced their way into the flat using explosives. "In doing so, the 60-year-old suspected gunman was slightly injured by shots to the leg," said a spokesman for the Upper Palatinate police headquarters. The man received medical treatment and was subsequently arrested.
A spokesperson for the headquarters explained the operational tactics: "We always try to achieve a peaceful resolution, which is fundamentally carried out through communication. The alternative is clear to everyone. But the aim is indeed to achieve a violence-free solution." In this case, the negotiation strategy failed.
Investigators from Regensburg criminal police want to question the suspect in close coordination with the Nuremberg-Fürth state prosecutor's office. The motive for the fatal shots remains unclear. Police announced that "no more detailed information can currently be provided regarding the exact sequence of events".
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)