A damaged car is seen on after a shooting Wednesday in Hanau, Germany, near Frankfurt.
Thu 20 February 2020:
At least nine people were killed late on Wednesday as a suspect went on a shooting rampage in Germany, targeting customers at two separate shisha lounges in the western town of Hanau.
The suspect – a 43-year-old German man – and his mother were found dead in his apartment overnight on Thursday.
Police are attempting to identify the victims.
Federal prosecutors have said there are indications of a far-right motive.
Police said the two crime scenes were at Heumarkt, in the centre of Hanau, and Kurt-Schumacher-Platz in the western neighbourhood of Kesselstadt, about 2km away. The suspect’s apartment was also in Kesselstadt.
erman Chancellor Angela Merkel said there was much to indicate racism motivated Hanau shootings.
She also said: “Racism is a poison, hate is a poison, and this poison exists in our society.”
“Everything will be done to investigate the circumstances of these terrible murders,” Merkel said.
Leader of Merkel’s party: Xenophobia is poisoning our society
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), said that xenophobia was a growing problem in Germany.
“It’s poison to see people as opponents, to see yourself as better than others, to see fellow citizens as foreigners – that’s a poison that is increasingly penetrating society and can ultimately lead to these crimes,” she said.
EU chief ‘deeply shocked’ by Germany shootings
“I am deeply shocked by the tragedy that took place last night in Hanau. My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims, to whom I want to extend my sincerest condolences. We mourn with you today,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a former German government minister, tweeted.
EU Council head Charles Michel and European Parliament speaker David Sassoli echoed the sentiments in their own tweets.
Ethnic Turks among victims: Turkey
Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for the Turkish presidency, said some of those killed were of Turkish origin.
Kalin said on Twitter: “We expect German authorities to show maximum effort to enlighten this case. Racisim is a collective cancer.”
Indications of far-right motive: Prosecutors
There are indications that a gunman who shot dead nine people in shisha bars in Hanau in an overnight rampage had a far-right motive, German federal prosecutors said.
“Federal prosecutors have taken over the investigation and there are indications of a right-wing extremist background,” said a spokesman for the prosecutors.
Local media says suspected attacker left letter and video confession
Bild, Germany’s biggest selling daily tabloid newspaper, said without citing a source that the suspected attacker left a letter and a video claiming responsibility and expressing extreme right-wing views.
It also said the man was a German citizen and that ammunition and gun magazines were found in his car.
He had a firearms hunting licence, the report said.
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