In Kusel, a police officer and her colleague are shot dead. Two suspects are in custody. More and more backgrounds are now known.
- Two police officers shot at Kusel in Rhineland-Palatinate.
- A 29-year-old police officer and his 24-year-old colleague die.
- Two men from Saarland are in custody.
+++ 9.53 p.m .: After the deadly shots in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, a nationwide minute’s silence and an internal police memorial service will take place on Friday (February 4th, 2022) to honor the shot 24-year-old police officer and her 29-year-old colleague commemorate The Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer and State Interior Minister Roger Lewentz (both SPD) are expected to attend the non-public memorial service in Kusel, Palatinate, in addition to relatives and colleagues of the dead officials. An official memorial service is planned for a later date.
The Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament wants the two police officers in the plenary session on 16./17. commemorate february In Saarland, Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) presented a book of condolences in the State Chancellery on Thursday.
After applause from the “lateral thinker” scene: investigation group against hate comments on the Internet
The State Criminal Police Office of Rhineland-Palatinate has meanwhile set up an investigative group against hate comments on the Internet. The 14 officers are to find the authors of applause for the perpetrators of Kusel. Cooperation with the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) is also planned.
The Rhineland-Palatinate state head of the police union (GdP), Sabrina Kunz, announced that she assumes that the investigative group and the public prosecutor’s office are working flat out to identify the perpetrators of such hate and hate comments. Kunz called for such acts not to be accepted. “I seriously wonder what is wrong with these people for expressing this profound hatred publicly.”
After deadly shots in Kusel: the judiciary gives new details
+++ 16:28: In order to cover up poaching, two men in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate allegedly shot a police officer and a police officer. Now the judiciary is giving new details about the investigation. A total of 22 fallow deer were found in the suspect’s car, the Kaiserslautern public prosecutor said. In addition, animal waste was secured in the sausage kitchen of a suspect in Sulzbach, Saarland.
The two suspects are in custody on charges of joint murder and commercial poaching. According to the public prosecutor’s office, 20 disembodied wild animal carcasses and animal waste were discovered at the whereabouts of a suspect in Spiesen-Elversberg in Saarland. In front of the door there was a refrigerated trailer with meat packaged ready for sale and worth several thousand euros. The results of the searches would be evaluated further, it said.
Deadly shots at the police in Kusel: Suspects previously in conflict with the law
The Saarland judiciary has repeatedly investigated both suspects in the past. One of the two men was sentenced in 2006 by the Saarbrücken district court to a fine of 90 daily rates of 50 euros each for negligent bodily harm in connection with a hunting accident, the public prosecutor in Saarbrücken said. The 38-year-old had seriously injured a fellow hunter with a shot in the neck and chest area and especially in the area of one eye. In addition, the man is said to have shot a deer in a foreign hunting ground in 2017 and then drove dangerously towards a man in his car. The case was dropped because he had an alibi.
According to the public prosecutor, further investigations are underway against the 38-year-old – among other things because of a possible fake crime in order to get money from an insurance company. The man did not admit the crime, it said.
The second suspect arrested, a 32-year-old, has been convicted three times since 2018, including for traffic offenses. Several media had previously reported about it.
After deadly shots at police officers – suspect comments on the night of the crime
+++ 12.30 p.m .: Many questions are still open after the double murder of two police officers in Rhineland-Palatinate. The police are currently assuming that the two suspects wanted to cover up their poaching in Kusel and therefore shot the 24-year-old police officer and her 29-year-old colleague. One of the two suspects has already made a partial confession and admitted the allegation of poaching. However, the 32-year-old denied having shot himself, said senior public prosecutor Stefan Orthen at a press conference on Tuesday. During the interrogation, he spoke in more detail about the night of the crime and heavily incriminated the 38-year-old Andreas S., as reported by the news portal Focus Online.
Accordingly, the 32-year-old is said to have stated that the main suspect Andreas S. only asked him for his help with an illegal hunt. Among other things, he should have helped to balance the killed animals in the transporter. Andreas S. alone fired the shots. The 32-year-old is said to have explained that the main suspect shot the 24-year-old police officer in the head with a shotgun when she asked for papers. Focus Online claims to have learned this from legal circles. Andreas S. is said to have killed her colleague with four shots from a single-shot rifle.
Deadly shots in Kusel: Second suspect burdens Andreas S. heavily
In addition, the 32-year-old is said to have assured the police that he had never fired a sharp weapon. According to his own statement, he was no longer able to intervene in what was happening to prevent the murders. Previous investigations into traces of smoke on the hands should not be able to refute these statements, reports Focus Online. This information has not yet been officially confirmed.
After deadly shots in Kusel: new information about the suspect
First report from February 3rd, 2022, 9:45 a.m.: Kusel – “They are shooting” was the last thing the colleagues heard from the two police forces in Kusel before the fatal shots were fired. The incident in Rhineland-Palatinate caused consternation across Germany. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser* (SPD)* spoke on Twitter of an “execution”.
On Monday (January 31, 2021), the day of the incident, the police reported the success of the search. Two men were arrested in Saarland. But what is known so far about the alleged perpetrators and the terrible act? An overview.
Deadly shots at the police in Kusel: This is known about the crime
In the morning, a 24-year-old police officer and her 29-year-old colleague were traveling in an unmarked vehicle. Your order was to take action against property crime, said the head of the police operation, Heiner Schmolzi, at a press conference on the incident in Kusel. Because the control took place in a place that was not suitable for it, he assumes that the police officers found the vehicle with the suspects standing. The two officials probably assumed it was a breakdown or a wildlife accident. According to the police, the trunk of the car was full of wild animals.
Then the shots were fired. The 24-year-old police officer was shot in the head. According to the investigators, the 29-year-old chief inspector was hit by four shots, one of them in the head. He himself fired 14 times, but according to current knowledge, neither of the two suspects was hit
After deadly shots in Kusel: Police give details
The suspects were initially on the run, but were arrested on Monday in Saarland. Andreas S.’s identity card and driver’s license were found on the vehicle. The 38-year-old man has been placed on the wanted list. In the evening he was arrested in Sulzbach near his home. In the course of searching several objects, the second suspect, a 32-year-old man, was arrested without resistance.
The Saarlanders have been in custody on suspicion of joint murder and poaching since Tuesday (February 1st, 2022). Andreas S. has been silent so far. The 32-year-old Florian V. made a partial confession, according to the investigators. He admitted the allegation of poaching. Shots were also fired. However, the 32-year-old denied having shot himself.
However, the investigators assume that at least two weapons were used – and that they were used by both suspects. The authorities now want to clarify, among other things, whether the men had gun ownership cards, as the public prosecutor in Kaiserslautern announced. A large arsenal of weapons was seized when the men were arrested. There are no indications of a politically motivated act or any connections to the so-called Reich Citizens’ Scene. The police already have a guess as to the motive.
Kusel: After deadly shots at the police – the motive
The investigators already had a suspicion about the motive for the crime in Kusel. They believe the suspects wanted to cover up their poaching. There is bewilderment. At the press conference on the crime, a journalist asks the investigators: “That’s actually not enough to simply shoot two police officers dead?”.
Factors were mentioned, fragile social conditions and a difficult economic situation, but he couldn’t think of that. When asked whether it was possible to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or whether psychological factors played a role, the senior public prosecutor explains: “At the moment I can’t tell you anything about it, except that you’re stunned in front of it, it can’t be explained.”
The suspects have no previous convictions. The 38-year-old had already noticed the police because of hunting poaching and traffic accident escape, the 32-year-old because of fraud, it said. During a search of storage rooms in Sulzbach (Saarland), tons of ready-to-sell, deep-frozen meat were said to have been seized, reports Der Spiegel.
Fatal shots in Kusel: what’s next?
Kaiserslautern police chief Michael Denne said that the entire Rhineland-Palatinate police force was “very concerned” after the death of his colleagues. “Since 4:22 a.m., a new time calculation has applied to us. We are shocked, deeply appalled and saddened.” Monday morning at 4:22 a.m. is the alleged time of the crime. The investigators also spoke of applause in the direction of the perpetrators on social media. This will not be accepted, announced Frank Gautsche from the West Palatinate Criminal Investigation Directorate. The authorities would closely investigate these “disgusting posts” and do everything possible to prosecute the senders of hate mail. Telegram messages about the crime in Kusel caused horror from the “lateral thinking” scene, among others.
As the prosecutor explained, the two men now face life imprisonment. On Friday (February 4th, 2022) there should be a minute’s silence, as the Saarland state government announced. The policeman and his colleague both come from Saarland. The Rhineland-Palatinate Police Foundation explained that a donation account was set up for the families of the deceased 24-year-old police officer and the 29-year-old police officer. The relatives should be financially supported with the intended purpose “Two of us”. (slo) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Headline list image: © Harald Title / dpa
