23-year-old dies after killing spree at Heidelberg University: shots fired – police are looking for a motive

There was a killing spree at the University of Heidelberg. An 18-year-old fired shots in a lecture hall. A student died as a result.

Update from January 25, 7:19 a.m .: A 23-year-old student was shot dead in a lecture hall at Heidelberg University. A 19- and 20-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man suffered minor injuries from shotgun fire. There were 30 students in the lecture hall.

The search for the motive of the perpetrator continues on Tuesday. How did the perpetrator get the gun? According to their own statements, the investigators will examine the perpetrator’s environment in the next few days. The head of the public prosecutor’s office in Heidelberg, Andreas Herrgen, said that a motive could only be speculated about so far. The perpetrator had no criminal record. The investigators would also have to check whether others were guilty of criminal offenses.

The police are now also checking whether the attack was targeted. It is initially unclear why the 18-year-old stopped the crime after three shots.

The man had more than 100 rounds of ammunition in a backpack with him, in addition to the purchase receipts for two guns. So he could have reloaded and kept shooting, said the Mannheim police chief Siegfried Kollmar on Monday evening. The 18-year-old is said to have bought the weapons abroad a few days ago. The 18-year-old shooter is said to have been an organic biology student and a fellow student. He himself would have had to sit in the lecture hall. The suspected gunman lived alone in Mannheim. After firing shots in the lecture hall, he committed suicide outside the college.

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Young woman dies after rampage at Heidelberg University: Shots fired in lecture hall – investigators with terrible details

Update from January 24, 9 p.m.: There are new reports on the attack in Heidelberg. At noon on this sunny January day, the tourist magnet Heidelberg, the world-famous baroque pearl on the Neckar, seemed to be in a state of emergency on the right bank. Shortly after the killing spree, red and white barrier tape demarcated the scene of the crime on the huge university campus, and the police controlled the access roads. A police helicopter was in the air, and a water police patrol boat was crossing not far away. “According to the investigation, the perpetrator came into the lecture hall shortly before half past twelve and shot around,” says a police spokesman.

The emergency services were alerted by a phone call. “The perpetrator fled and turned himself in.” A special task force was looking for a possible second perpetrator in the labyrinthine area – around 3:15 p.m. the all-clear was given: the man was a lone perpetrator. He is said to have had no political or religious motives. “At first we didn’t believe what came in via Telegram and Whatsapp,” says the 32-year-old, who studies sociology, philosophy and art history at the neighboring Bergheim campus.

But the helicopters in the air would have left no doubt – something bad had happened. Some students went home, others like himself stayed in the rooms because of the unclear situation. In any case, the buses were no longer driven. An employee of the university hospital was on her way to her lunch break. “Actually, I just wanted to go to the bakery for a moment, so a lot of patrol cars came my way. In ten second intervals. That’s when I thought something must have happened.” “Something like that in quiet Heidelberg,” says a woman who is standing near the police officers with other university employees in the afternoon.

“You only know that from television.” Her companion shakes her head. “Just a few years ago, a man drove amok in a car here in Heidelberg and killed a man,” she says. “Everyone was shocked. This is just as bad.” The deed will reverberate for a long time, my investigators. “There was panic,” says Kollmar. “The students were scared to death.”

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The perpetrator had 100 rounds of ammunition with him

Update from January 24, 7:57 p.m .: According to the police, the alleged gunman from Heidelberg had more than 100 rounds of ammunition with him. It is not yet known why he stopped shooting, said the Mannheim police chief Siegfried Kollmar on Monday evening. That is speculative, but it cannot be ruled out that a specific person should be hit.

The 18-year-old student could have reloaded. Because there was a backpack with unknown contents with the young man’s corpse, the police were not able to reach the dead man for a long time. It could have been explosives, Kollmar explained. The Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office therefore also sent defusers to examine the backpack.

Heidelberg University prepares funeral service

Update from January 24, 7:42 p.m .: The University of Heidelberg is preparing a funeral service after the killing spree in a lecture hall. Rector Bernhard Eitel could not name any precise plans on Monday evening. The university is also considering how the crime can be processed internally. It should definitely be addressed.

Eitel was impressed both by the quick reaction within the university and by how quickly the police arrived at the facility after the alarm was raised. That went very well. Throughout the day he received messages from scientists from all over Europe who were following what was happening in Heidelberg and who were offering help. According to Eitel, it also feels like an attack on the openness of the universities and the academic tradition.

Prosecutor: perpetrators not previously convicted – no information on the possible motive

Update from January 24, 7:36 p.m .: The investigators have not yet given any information on a possible motive for the killing spree at Heidelberg University. It’s still too early for that, said Andreas Herrgen, head of the Heidelberg public prosecutor’s office, on Monday evening in Mannheim. There is no reliable information on this yet. According to previous knowledge, the alleged perpetrator had no criminal record, as Herrgen said. One assumes more of a relationship act or psychological problems. Neither the man nor his close relatives should have had weapons. It is now also being determined whether third parties must be held jointly responsible under criminal law.

New details about Heidelberg: 18-year-old sent WhatsApp message before killing spree

Update from January 24, 7:12 p.m .: New details were made public at the press conference. Mannheim’s police chief Siegfried Kollmar held this on Monday evening. The dead alleged perpetrator should therefore have been found first. The 18-year-old German student walked into a lecture hall with a group of 30 people with a side-by-side shotgun and a repeating rifle.

He fired multiple times. So far three shells have been found. He injured four people. One person died from the injuries. All victims are young German students, two women (19 and 20) and one man, a German-Italian (20). The dead is a 23-year-old. The perpetrator then took his own life outside. According to initial findings, he should not have had a criminal record.

The perpetrator recently bought the weapons abroad. The apartment was searched, the perpetrator lived in Heidelberg and sent a WhatsApp message immediately before the crime. This said that people had to be punished. In addition, he does not want to be buried, but would like a burial at sea. The authenticity of the messages is still being checked.

“We will still have to verify that, too, and we will also have to understand that,” emphasized Kollmar. “We will now examine his surroundings in the next few days, with high pressure.” The investigators want to check all his whereabouts and interlocutors of the past few days. According to Kollmar, it only took six minutes for the police to be there after the shots were fired. 400 officers were on duty. 29 witnesses testified that only one perpetrator had been active, which is why the police were able to give the all-clear quickly.

Is there a relationship act behind the killing spree?

Update from January 24, 6:24 p.m .: The motive for the crime is still unclear – but now the first details are leaking out. As the FAZ claims to have learned from investigators, there was probably a relationship act behind the attack.

Update from January 24, 6:22 p.m .: Chancellor Olaf Scholz was deeply shocked after the killing spree in Heidelberg. “It breaks my heart to hear such news,” said the SPD politician on Monday after a conference with the prime ministers in Berlin. He expressed his condolences to the relatives, the victims and the students of the University of Heidelberg. I

Krestchmann: “The news from Heidelberg affects me deeply”

Update from January 24, 6:10 p.m .: After the rampage at the university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann expressed his condolences to the victims. “The news from Heidelberg affects me deeply. My thoughts are with the families and their loved ones. We are by your side,” said the Green politician on Monday evening. He sincerely hopes that the injured will recover. He thanked emergency services and rescue workers for their work.

“Our police are investigating under high pressure and are doing everything they can to quickly clarify the background to the crime.” During the killing spree in a lecture hall, a man who is said to have been a student himself shot a young woman and injured three people. After the crime, he killed himself, police said. Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) said: “For the injured and those involved, including those who were present in the tutorial, I hope for a speedy recovery in body and soul.” It was a “terribly stressful situation”.

He added: “Science worldwide, all of us here in Baden-Württemberg and beyond, are thinking of the victims and those who had to witness, process and cope with what happened today.” The emergency services were quickly at the crime scene and could have quickly clarified the initially confusing situation with the university management. “Now is the time for the investigators, because it is important for all of us to clarify the background to the terrible act as quickly as possible. A press conference on the killing spree is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m.

Update from January 24, 5:31 p.m .: The President of the Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK) and deputy CDU leader Karin Prien was deeply affected after the killing spree in Heidelberg. “It is shocking that the peaceful place of joint learning became the site of an armed attack,” said the Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Education. “My thoughts are with the relatives of the victims, the students and teachers and university members of the medical faculty of the University of Heidelberg.”

Heidelberg: fatality is probably a young woman

Update from January 24, 4:40 p.m .: The fatality is said to be a young woman. The dpa reports, citing security circles. The woman succumbed to her injuries a few hours after the crime. The perpetrator shot her in the head.

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Rampage in Heidelberg – student spokesman: “We are infinitely shocked”

Update from January 24, 4:05 p.m .: “We are infinitely shocked. This is a catastrophe that eludes everything conceivable between lectures, exams and university life,” said Peter Abelmann, chairman of the student body at Heidelberg University. The news of the killing spree spread like wildfire among the students. Some would have reported directly about the crime via messenger services.

Heidelberg’s Lord Mayor Eckart Würzner wrote on Facebook: “Dear Heidelbergers, today is a terrible day for all of us.” He called on the population to follow the instructions of the police and not to spread speculation and rumours.

Rampage at the University of Heidelberg: One victim apparently died

Update from January 24, 3:49 p.m .: After the killing spree at the University of Heidelberg, a victim succumbed to his serious injuries. The dpa reports, citing security circles.

Shots at the University of Heidelberg: the perpetrator shot himself with a gun in a lecture

Update from January 24, 3:30 p.m.: “According to current knowledge, the perpetrator is said to have shot a long gun while a lecture was running in a lecture hall at the university in Neuenheimer Feld, injuring four people, some seriously,” said the police in a statement With.

The perpetrator then fled to the outside area. The perpetrator was dead, it said. It is assumed that it was a lone perpetrator. “Currently, there is no longer any danger,” the police said. The on-site investigations are therefore continuing at full speed. A citizen hotline has been set up for relatives under the number 0621/174-5055. There will be a press conference early Monday evening.

Heidelberg: Four people injured – one critically

Update from January 24, 3:04 p.m .: After the rampage in Heidelberg, according to dpa, there should be a total of four injured. According to security circles, one of the four victims was fatally injured when the shots were fired in the university lecture hall.

Update from January 24, 2:55 p.m .: “We assume a single perpetrator who is now dead,” said a police spokesman to Merkur.de and tz.de. The perpetrator injured several people with a gun.

The police spokesman could not confirm any information on the condition and the number of injuries. Neither is there speculation about the perpetrator’s motive or that he shot himself.

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Rampage at the University of Heidelberg: The perpetrator is said to have been a student

Update from January 24, 2:32 p.m .: According to information from the dpa, the gunman should have been a student himself. According to initial findings, he had no religious or political motives, according to security circles. He had several long guns with him.

According to the picture, the SEK and a police helicopter are currently in use.

Rampage at the University of Heidelberg: Injured after a lecture hall attack with a long gun

First report: Heidelberg – A major police operation is currently underway on the grounds of the University of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg*. According to initial information from the police, a person with a long gun injured several people in a lecture hall. The perpetrator is now dead. There is also a seriously injured person, it said.

According to dpa, security circles said the man had killed himself. However, this information has not yet been officially confirmed. The police said: “We are not assuming that there will be other perpetrators.” However, the site will continue to be searched for safety.

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Rampage at the University of Heidelberg: police operation is ongoing – the perpetrator is dead

The police* said via Twitter: “This is known so far: A single perpetrator injured several people in a lecture hall with a long gun. The perpetrator himself is dead.”

The Neuenheimer Feld in front of the gates of the old town is currently cordoned off as Heidelberg24* reports. The natural science faculties and parts of the University Hospital of the University of Heidelberg are mainly located there. No further details were initially known about the crime. The police asked motorists to drive around the site so that rescue workers can drive freely. *Merkur.de and Heidelberg24.de are offered by IPPEN.MEDIA

List of rubrics: © Sebastian Gollnow/dpa