The Heidelberg students want to set a sign against violence with a place of mourning. He is supposed to keep alive the memory of the 23-year-old who was shot dead in the rampage and three injured fellow students.
Heidelberg – After the rampage at Heidelberg University, students would like a permanent memorial to the 23-year-old who was shot dead and her three injured fellow students.
“We are thinking about establishing a permanent place of mourning on campus,” said the chairman of the student body, Peter Abelmann, of the “Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung” in Heidelberg.
However, the motive for the terrible act, in which a 23-year-old was killed by several shots on Monday and three other young people were injured, remains in the dark. After the fact, the 18-year-old shooter killed himself. However, the police indicated that the young man’s mental illness “in the room” could have been the cause of the crime.
Traumatic experience
The students wanted the crime to be processed, said their representative Abelmann. There must also be permanent offers of support for the students – for many it is the first traumatic experience in their lives. “And some will remain traumatized,” said Abelmann.
Meanwhile, the Austrian authorities are investigating the details of the student’s gun purchase from a gun dealer and a private individual. According to the police, the young man, who, like the victim, was studying biology in his first semester, had acquired three long guns in Austria about a week before the crime. Officials secured two of the guns and around 150 rounds of ammunition at the crime scene – initially their number was estimated at 100 rounds. The Austrian police found the third weapon in a room that the young man had rented during a stay.
According to the information, the investigators are also examining evidence of the man’s connections to the right-wing extremist party The Third Way. The organization denied that he left in 2019 on its website. In September 2019, he sent an unsigned sponsoring membership application to the party’s mailbox. However, since the applicant did not get in touch using the contact details provided, his case was filed a month later. According to the “Botanik” investigative group, there are no indications that the shooter had any contacts with the right-wing spectrum.
Fake news on social media
There are many false claims about the perpetrator circulating on social media. “In seven cases, we contacted Twitter about fake news about the perpetrator in order to have the reports deleted,” said police spokesman Patrick Knapp. Reasons were unsubstantiated statements about the identity, origin, political orientation or vaccination status of the assassin. dpa
