Seven people on a university campus in Darmstadt suffer poisoning, one is temporarily in acute danger. Who deposited the toxic substances in food is unclear, as is the motivation.
Darmstadt – The poison attack hits the university staff and students in a completely unsuspecting way: After the alleged attack with toxic substances at the Technical University of Darmstadt, an investigation is now underway for attempted murder.
The Hessian State Criminal Police Office found substances in the foodstuffs seized on a university campus that could have led to the symptoms of poisoning in seven people, the investigators said. They do not reveal which substances are involved. “Some things we can not and do not want to publish,” said the investigators about possible perpetrator knowledge.
No evidence of perpetrator or motive yet
A 40-strong homicide squad named “Light” now wants to find the perpetrator or perpetrators as quickly as possible. “That can be topped up depending on the status of the investigation, depending on the situation,” said the public prosecutor’s spokesman Robert Hartmann. There are currently no indications of a possible perpetrator or the motives. It is also being determined who may have had access to the building over the weekend.
In response to the symptoms of poisoning in at least seven people, there was a large contingent of emergency services at building L201 on the campus on Monday. Six people had to be taken to clinics with symptoms such as malaise and discoloration. A 30-year-old student was initially in critical condition, which, according to the police, stabilized. According to Hartmann, there was a temporary acute danger to life.
On Tuesday morning nothing in building L201 reminds of the large number of people. Engineer Falk Münch was working in a neighboring building when he heard about the poisoning through friends and social media on Monday. All of a sudden there were police vehicles and ambulances everywhere, said Münch, who knows a victim. Only one building was affected. “We are still careful.”
During the further search in buildings on the campus, where mechanical engineers, construction engineers and natural scientists are trained, no other suspicious objects were found, the investigators said. No other people with symptoms of poisoning had reported by Tuesday morning.
University President “shaken”
The investigators announced on Monday that several milk cartons and water containers had been mixed with the harmful substance. The police strongly advised only consuming food on campus that was kept under supervision at all times. But there is no longer any acute risk.
“We are shocked by the obvious crime that has occurred at our university,” said the president of the university, Tanja Brühl. “I will contact you personally as soon as possible, provided your condition allows it.” According to TU Chancellor Manfred Efinger, psychological help should also be offered. “Of course the employees are concerned, worried.”
There are always poison attacks in the workplace. In Bad Nauheim, Hessen, a nurse bakes biscuits for colleagues. What sounds like a nice gesture makes some colleagues dizzy and unconscious. According to the regional court in Gießen, the woman mixed sedatives and sleeping pills into her sweets and was sentenced to three years imprisonment for dangerous bodily harm in May of last year. In the community of Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock in North Rhine-Westphalia, a man poisoned his colleagues’ sandwiches, according to the district court of Bielefeld. He is sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder. dpa
