Sixfold murder in Stade: Special forces arrest suspected weapons dealer
Following the massacre at a youth welfare facility in Stade, a 49-year-old man from Berlin is in custody as the suspected seller of the murder weapon.
Berlin man arrested as suspected weapons supplier
Following the sixfold murder at a youth welfare facility in Stade, investigators have apprehended the suspected seller of the murder weapon. According to WELT, the 49-year-old Berlin man has been in custody since a judge's remand order at Stade district court on Tuesday and was subsequently transferred to a Lower Saxony prison.
Specialist police units arrested the suspect in the early hours of Monday morning in Berlin. Officers from Stade's murder investigation team and Berlin police were involved in the operation. The man offered no resistance and was subsequently taken into police custody in Stade, where he was initially questioned.
According to investigations so far, the perpetrator is said to have acquired the weapon in Berlin a few days before the attack. This lead eventually directed the murder investigation team of Stade police station to the 49-year-old.
Background: Custody dispute as motive
On 29 June, 45-year-old Fatih Khan G. shot dead six members of staff at the facility. The trigger was a custody dispute over his daughter, who was then only a few weeks old. Doctors had previously diagnosed shaken baby syndrome in the infant, whereupon authorities became involved and the mother and child were placed in the mother-child facility in Stade. G. was found lifeless in his prison cell on 21 July.
According to Der Spiegel, Fatih Khan G. had attempted to hire a private detective agency approximately eight weeks before the attack to conduct investigations into a paediatrician at Hannover Medical School – the doctor who had been involved in the treatment of his daughter. However, the company refused to cooperate, as doubts arose about G.'s intentions.
Government failure in the spotlight
The case sparked broad criticism of the authorities involved. Fatih Khan G. was a Turkish national without a valid residence permit for Germany. In Turkey, he was wanted on an arrest warrant after fleeing from custody there – he faced conviction for abuse of his daughter from an earlier relationship. The fact that he was able to evade authorities in Germany despite this and repeatedly came into contact with government bodies without his deportation obligation being noticed sparked sharp criticism in the public.
Source: WELT