He no longer had a gun license to own firearms. And yet the man is said to have shot two police officers. Could it have been prevented?
Saarbrücken – More than four weeks after the killing of two police officers near Kusel, the interior committee of the Saarland state parliament has dealt with the suspect’s (38) gun ownership.
“The facts were presented in such a way that we were able to determine that there is currently no evidence of official failure, i.e. that the weapons and hunting authorities have acted properly within the scope of their competence,” said committee chair Petra Berg (SPD) on Thursday.
It was stated that “first of all, it is the act of a highly criminal man, which could not have been prevented even by official intervention”. The alleged perpetrator from Saarland has had more than 20 proceedings since 2004. His hunting license had been revoked, but he still “handled weapons and indulged his passion for hunting”.
The case shows, however, that there are gun law issues that need to be considered, said the domestic politician. For example, the question of why a weapon owner’s license is not withdrawn in pending proceedings in order to prevent further use of weapons.
The suspect has not had a hunting license since March 2020, and according to the Saarland district council he had given his weapons to persons entitled to purchase by January 2020. After this point in time he was only in possession of silencers including gun ownership cards. With these he is said to have been able to borrow weapons temporarily.
A 24-year-old police candidate and a 29-year-old police commissioner were shot dead on January 31 during a vehicle inspection near Kusel (West Palatinate). The 38-year-old is in custody on suspicion of murder: he is said to have killed the officers with five shots. In addition, there is a suspicion of commercial poaching against him – as well as against a 32-year-old who is said to have been at the scene of the crime and is also in custody. dpa
