The act of Idar-Oberstein shocked many people. Local politicians warn of increasing violence. At the scene of the incident in Rhineland-Palatinate, it remains quiet a week after the crime.
Idar-Oberstein – The fatal attack on the cashier at a gas station in Idar-Oberstein is not a surprising act, according to criminologist Britta Bannenberg.
“For years we have had an increase in the potential for aggression, extremism and a willingness to use violence,” said the professor from the University of Giessen to the German Press Agency. This was initially expressed in the willingness to use violence against officials such as emergency services, police officers, employees of job centers and mayors.
“The climate has become rougher overall and many are feeling it,” said Bannenberg, who has also been researching crime prevention for years. “There is a noticeable resentment against society, and the Corona measures ignite a lot. But they are not the cause. ”To focus only on corona deniers now is too one-sided. “It’s wider.”
A 49-year-old German is accused of shooting a 20-year-old cashier in the head in the gas station in Idar-Oberstein (Rhineland-Palatinate) on September 18. The young man had advised him of the mask requirement. After his arrest, the 49-year-old said, according to investigators, that he rejects the corona measures. He is in custody on suspicion of murder.
Police show presence
Exactly one week after the fact, it was quiet in Idar-Oberstein on Saturday, a police spokesman said on Sunday. “We have a strong presence in town, including at the petrol station. There were no incidents. ”In the past few days, among other things, flowers had been laid at the gas station – in memory of the victim.
Meanwhile, Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) warned against a radicalization of the lateral thinker movement in Germany. “The group of lateral thinkers is getting smaller and smaller, but unfortunately also more and more radical and brutal,” said Seehofer of “Bild am Sonntag”.
The politically motivated violence in Germany by lateral thinkers is dangerous for the country. “They can decompose our country if the rule of law does not fight them with all means,” said Seehofer. He demanded that “the perpetrators and those who support crimes like in Idar-Oberstein” should be severely punished.
Several mayors warned of increasing radicalization in society. “We are experiencing brutalization that we have never seen before,” said the President of the German Association of Cities, Leipzig’s Lord Mayor Burkhard Jung (SPD), the “Tagesspiegel” (Sunday). This began in 2015 with the refugee debate and continued in the pandemic, from Reich citizens to corona deniers. He criticized the way the judiciary dealt with such acts: “The public prosecutor’s offices are often too cozy for me,” said Jung. “It is just not freedom of expression if Article 1 of our Basic Law is violated, that is, human dignity.”
The Mayor of Augsburg, Eva Weber (CSU), complained in the joint interview with several city leaders that they were defenseless. If she filed a complaint, the proceedings would often be dropped. “When the going gets tough, I feel at my mercy because there is absolutely no way to defend yourself,” Weber explained. dpa
