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Police operation in Heidelberg
Photo: R.Priebe / dpa
During the attack in a lecture hall at Heidelberg University, the perpetrator shot one person and injured three others.
A victim succumbed to his serious gunshot wounds a few hours after the crime.
Corresponding information from the dpa news agency was confirmed to SPIEGEL by police circles.
A lone perpetrator shot himself with a gun in a lecture hall while the lecture was running on Monday afternoon, the police said.
He then fled outside.
The perpetrator is dead.
So far, the police have not released any information about the identity of the victim or the perpetrator.
According to SPIEGEL information, the investigators assume that the perpetrator is apparently a student.
He is said to have belonged to the course in the lecture hall.
He is said not to have been known to the police before.
Police assume it was a lone perpetrator
Shortly after the crime at noon, the police said: "We are not assuming that there are other perpetrators." To be on the safe side, the site will continue to be searched.
Around 3:15 p.m., the police confirmed that the man was a lone gunman.
"There is no longer any danger at the moment."
The Neuenheimer Feld in front of the gates of Heidelberg's old town was cordoned off in the afternoon.
The police asked motorists to drive around the site so that rescue workers could drive freely.
The police set up a hotline for relatives.
Students were stunned.
“We are infinitely shocked.
This is a catastrophe that eludes everything conceivable between lectures, exams and university life," said Peter Abelmann, chairman of the student body.
Minister on the way to the crime scene
The news spread like wildfire among the students, said Abelmann.
Some would have reported directly about the crime via messenger services.
The student body's thoughts are with those affected.
Baden-Württemberg's Science Minister Theresia Bauer (Greens) was on her way to the crime scene in the afternoon.
A spokeswoman for the ministry said that she first met with university rector Bernhard Eitel and now wanted to see for herself.
ptz/jjc/dpa