Rampage in Heidelberg: "Traumata will remain" - "Permanent memorial" should come  

Created: 01/27/2022, 11:57 am

By: Tobias Utz, Vincent Büssow, Christian Stör, Lucas Maier

After the killing spree at Heidelberg University, teachers and students are faced with the question of how to proceed.

Meanwhile, the police are investigating the gun dealers.

• A gunman breaks into a university lecture hall in Heidelberg with a long gun and shoots around.

• He meets four victims.

  A woman dies.

  The perpetrator then takes his own life.

  Chancellor Olaf Scholz* (SPD*) expresses his condolences to the bereaved.

• The investigations into the killing spree in Heidelberg are ongoing despite the perpetrator's death.

  Above all, the origin of the weapon and the ammunition should now be clarified.

Update from Thursday, January 27th, 2022, 11.45 a.m .:

After the killing spree at the university in Heidelberg, a permanent memorial could be created there.

"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.

After the killing spree, police officers secure traces on the grounds of the botanical garden of Heidelberg University.

© Uwe Anspach/dpa

There was a wish that the crime would be processed, said Abelmann.

Many students also wished for a permanent place of mourning.

But there must also be permanent support offers for the students, for many it is the first traumatic experience in their lives.

“And some will remain traumatized.

We won't be able to push the whole thing aside so quickly," said Abelmann.

Nevertheless, the student representative continued to plead for an open university in Heidelberg.

That such an act would shake the entire academic institution is nothing one can imagine and nothing one wants.

“We cannot stop living because of this.

We have to keep going.”

Flowers and candles for the victims of the rampage in Heidelberg.

© Uwe Anspach/dpa

Heidelberg rampage: perpetrators had weapons from Austria

+++ 6.50 p.m .:

The gunman from Heidelberg procured three long guns in Austria a week before the crime.

According to a first report published on Wednesday (January 26, 2021) by the "Botany" investigation group, two of them were secured at the crime scene with 150 rounds of ammunition.

According to the police, two of the weapons came from a dealer and another from a private individual.

Whether the sellers have made themselves punishable is currently being examined.

After an initial evaluation of mobile phones, laptops and a tablet, the police have no indication that there was a personal relationship between the alleged perpetrator and the victims.

The motive also remains unclear.

According to information, the 18-year-old was a member of the right-wing extremist party “Der III.

Gone,” but left her again in 2019.

There is no evidence of radicalization or contacts to the right spectrum.

It is possible that a mental illness triggered the crime, the statement said.

Apparently, the young man had taken a taxi from Mannheim to the university.

He is said to have stowed the two weapons in a sports bag and placed them in the trunk of the car.

Bloody deed in Heidelberg: the police continue to investigate - more and more unanswered questions

+++ 2:51 p.m .:

After the killing spree at the University of Heidelberg, the police are trying to get a picture of the fact by interviewing witnesses and evaluating the results of the autopsy.

"Most of the around 30 biology students who were surprised by the perpetrator in a lecture hall have been questioned," said police spokesman Patrick Knapp on Wednesday (January 26, 2022) in Mannheim.

Of course, there will also be a second round of questions.

"The deeper we examine things, the more new questions arise."

Heidelberg: Faculty remains closed for the time being

Update from Wednesday, January 26th, 2022, 6:00 a.m.:

After the killing spree at the University of Heidelberg, the affected faculty is temporarily suspending its face-to-face events for students in the first semester. This initially applies until the planned central funeral service on Monday, said the Dean of the Faculty of Biosciences, Jochen Wittbrodt, of the German Press Agency. "As a lecturer, I would also feel very strange if I had to go into a closed lecture hall now." The building with the lecture hall in which the shots were fired will remain closed for the time being, said Wittbrodt.

Students and lecturers are "in shock mode" after the events.

Nevertheless, a digital meeting of the faculty with more than 170 participants took place on Tuesday, and university rector Bernhard Eitel was also there.

"Above all, we tried to inform the students and make them offers," emphasized Wittbrodt.

When it comes to psychological care, “no one should fall through the cracks”.

A sense of proportion is now required for the upcoming tests, said Wittbrodt.

An exam on Wednesday (January 26) was suspended, and there will be alternative dates for others.

"We also give the students the opportunity to take part in the exams," said Wittbrodt.

"But if they notice in the meantime that it's not working, a short signal is enough.

Then this exam doesn’t count.”

After a certain time, students at the faculty want to be encouraged to "closer to face-to-face operations" again, emphasized Wittbrodt.

"Biosciences is a very practical subject, more than 50 percent of the course is internships." In addition, a certain amount of routine is also useful when dealing with what has been experienced.

Rampage in Heidelberg: More details about the perpetrator – father informed the police

+++ 16.45:

The gunman at Heidelberg University comes from Berlin.

The German Press Agency learned this from police circles on Tuesday.

According to media reports, the man grew up in the Wilmersdorf district.

The daily newspaper Mannheimer Morgen first reported on it.

+++ 3.30 p.m .:

The police have announced new details about the investigation into the rampage in Heidelberg.

Accordingly, digital devices are now being evaluated, which were found during the search of the apartment.

In addition, the corpses of the perpetrator and the victim are examined by forensic medicine.

The bodies of the young man and the 23-year-old woman were taken to the Institute for Forensic Medicine at Heidelberg University Hospital for an autopsy, said Baden-Württemberg's Minister of the Interior, Strobl.

+++

On Monday (01/31/2022) a funeral service is to take place in the Peterskirche in Heidelberg.

The university announced that this would also be broadcast via live stream.

Rampage in Heidelberg: Father warned the police

+++ 2.30 p.m .:

The 18-year-old perpetrator from Heidelberg announced his killing spree via Whatsapp.

In a message he wrote that "people should now be punished" (see update from 11.45 a.m.).

He sent this Whatsapp message to his father, as Thomas Strobl, Interior Minister of Baden-Württemberg, confirmed on Tuesday.

The father of the young biology student then reported to the police and reported it.

He told the investigating authorities that his son had announced an act.

++ 1:00 p.m .:

After the killing spree at the University of Heidelberg, the German police union recommends that those directly affected by the crime seek psychological care.

"The students in the lecture hall were scared to death, they didn't know how long the perpetrator would keep shooting," said Ralf Kusterer, head of the German press agency on Tuesday.

He added: "They will not forget that for the rest of their lives." The experience could lead to post-traumatic stress disorders if those affected were not treated.

This also applies to other people who may have been in the building at the time of the crime.

The police can inform those seeking help about the relevant offers.

+++ 12.30 p.m .:

The police want to clarify the background of the killing spree at Heidelberg University with an investigative team.

An investigative group called "Botanik" with 32 people has been set up, announced the Baden-Württemberg Minister of the Interior, Thomas Strobl, in Stuttgart on Tuesday.

The name is due to the fact that the affected university building borders on the botanical garden.

Rampage in Heidelberg: perpetrators expressed a funeral request

+++ 11.45 a.m .:

The killing spree at the University of Heidelberg also caused horror one day after the fact. The 18-year-old biology student killed a young woman and eventually himself. The gunman previously announced his crime in a chat group on the Whatsapp messenger service. In a message, he explained, according to the police, that "people now have to be punished". For what did he leave open. The message also said that he wanted a burial at sea after his crime. This was announced by the leading investigative authorities at a press conference.

"We will still have to verify that, we will also have to understand that," said Siegfried Kollmar, police chief of Mannheim, in this regard.

"We will now examine his surroundings in the next few days, with high pressure." The authorities emphasized on Tuesday morning that the "investigations are ongoing" (see update from 09.30 a.m.).

Heidelberg: University rampage – “Investigations are still ongoing”

+++ 9.30 a.m .:

After the killing spree in Heidelberg with one fatality, there is still no new information about the motive of the 18-year-old suspect. "The investigations are still ongoing," said a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in the Baden-Württemberg city on Tuesday. On Monday, the gunman shot dead a 23-year-old student at Heidelberg University during a lecture and shot three other students.

The fellow student of the attacked students then committed suicide outside the university.

According to prosecutors, the 18-year-old has no criminal record.

He is said to have obtained the two weapons he used abroad, and around a hundred rounds of ammunition were confiscated in his backpack.

According to the police, the perpetrator is a German who had not previously been noticed by the police.

It is only known that a mental illness was present "long ago".

Immediately before the crime, the man sent a Whatsapp message saying that "people have to be punished".

Investigators examine one of the weapons used by a man in his rampage at the university in Heidelberg.

© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa

+++ 08.00 a.m .:

After the killing spree at Heidelberg University with two dead and three injured, the investigators continue their work on Tuesday.

There are unanswered questions about the motive of the perpetrator and why he got his hands on the gun.

The 18-year-old is said to have bought it abroad a few days ago, as the Mannheim police chief Siegfried Kollmar said on Monday evening.

Rampage in Heidelberg University: Search for a motive is ongoing

According to current knowledge, the investigators assume that the German first shot several times in a lecture hall in which around 30 students were and later shot himself in front of the building.

A 19- and 20-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man were slightly injured by the shots, a 23-year-old died as a result.

According to the police, the man had just sent a Whatsapp message to his father.

He wrote "that people have to be punished now," said Kollmar.

Details still need to be verified.

"We will now examine his surroundings in the next few days, with high pressure."

The head of the public prosecutor's office in Heidelberg, Andreas Herrgen, said that a motive could only be speculated about so far.

The perpetrator had no criminal record.

The investigators would also have to check whether others were guilty of criminal offenses.

Rampage at Heidelberg University: New details about the perpetrator known

Update from Tuesday, January 25th, 2022, 6:35 a.m .:

The shock after the killing spree in Heidelberg is still deep.

It was a "terrible act of violence," said Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU *) to the mirror.

The investigations into the background of the fact would run at full speed.

In their investigation, the police are primarily investigating the question of where the 18-year-old man got the guns, a shotgun and a repeating rifle, as well as the associated ammunition, with which he shot a 23-year-old woman, among other things.

The man, who probably lived in Mannheim and was a student of biological sciences, did not have a firearms license.

He is said to have bought the guns abroad a few days earlier.

How this was possible is now to be clarified by the authorities.

Rampage in Heidelberg: Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks up

+++ 9:13 p.m .:

In the evening, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) commented on the killing spree in Heidelberg.

After the prime ministers' conference, he said in Berlin: "It breaks my heart to hear such news."

Scholz expressed his condolences to the relatives, victims and students of Heidelberg University, according to the dpa.

The sympathy after the shots in Heidelberg is cross-party.

Many politicians have spoken out on social media in particular.

Among them, among others, are Ministers of Justice Marko Buschmann (FDP) and Nancy Faeser (SPD).

In the afternoon (January 24, 2022), the Minister of Science of Baden-Württemberg, Theresia Bauer (Greens), came to the site of the rampage.

She said: "I'm appalled.

It leaves you speechless when innocent young people have to experience something like this in university operations.” Meanwhile, Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) assured that the matter would be clarified quickly.

The police would do everything to clarify the background quickly, so Kretschmann.

Rampage in Heidelberg: identity of perpetrator clarified – weapons bought abroad

+++ 8.10 p.m

.: Andreas Herrgen, head of the Heidelberg public prosecutor’s office, initially gave no information on a possible motive on Monday evening (01/24/2022).

It's still too early for that, says Herrgen.

According to earlier information from security circles, however, the man should not have had any political or religious motives.

It is more likely that it is a relationship act or psychological problems, it said.

The murder weapon is said to have been a shotgun.

The man had more than 100 rounds of ammunition with him.

It is not yet known why he stopped shooting, said Kollmar.

That is speculative, but it cannot be ruled out that a specific person should be hit.

The 18-year-old could have reloaded.

Rampage in Heidelberg: Weapons bought abroad

+++ 8:02 p.m

.: The gunman from Heidelberg is said to have bought the weapons not on the Internet, but personally abroad a few days ago.

There is proof of purchase, said the President of the Mannheim Police Headquarters, Siegfried Kollmar, on Monday evening (01/24/2022).

It must now be clarified who is selling a gun to someone without a gun license.

In order not to forewarn the seller, investigators did not name the country where the guns were purchased.

The 18-year-old gunman has not yet been recorded by the police.

He also didn't have a driver's license.

"It's very unusual, this situation," said the chief of police.

Rampage in Heidelberg: emergency services penetrated into the lecture hall

+++ 7.45 p.m .:

In a press conference, the chief of police in Mannheim, Siefried Kollmar, explained the status of the investigation after the rampage in Heidelberg. According to this, seven emergency calls were received by the police at 12:24 p.m. A short time later, the emergency services were on site and penetrated into the lecture hall where the crime took place. More than 400 officers are said to have been deployed.

According to police chief Kollmar, the alleged perpetrator was an 18-year-old.

After the fact, he killed himself.

The three injured and the deceased were all in their 20s.

According to the investigation, the alleged perpetrator acquired the two long guns used in the rampage in Heidelberg abroad.

The police searched the 18-year-old's apartment and secured evidence.

In a Whatsapp message, he is said to have written that "people must be punished".

The authenticity of the message has yet to be verified.

The investigations are ongoing.

Mayor of Heidelberg speaks after rampage

+++ 18.55:

The mayor of Heidelberg has reacted to the killing spree at the university in his city.

The non-party Eckart Würzner said: "We are all shocked and appalled by the killing spree that took place today in Neuenheimer Feld.

The heart of the science city of Heidelberg beats on this campus.”

The mayor also thanked the emergency services.

Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann did the same.

His thoughts are with the victims and local people, said the FDP politician.

On Monday (01/24/2022) a man shot at people in a running lecture, killing a student and himself.

Three other people were seriously injured.

Rampage in Heidelberg: man shoots student

+++ 4.30 p.m .:

After the killing spree at the University of Heidelberg, a young woman succumbed to her serious injuries a few hours after the fact.

The perpetrator shot her in the head, security sources said on Monday.

The man shot himself with a gun while the lecture was running in a lecture hall at noon, the police said.

There were three injured in addition to the young woman.

The man, who is said to have been a student himself, then fled into the open.

He is said to have had a backpack with other weapons with him, the German Press Agency learned from the security circles.

Accordingly, he is said to have shot himself.

So far, the police have only confirmed that the perpetrator is dead.

+++ 15.48:

After the killing spree at the University of Heidelberg, a victim succumbed to his serious injuries.

The German press agency learned this on Monday from security circles.

Police officers examine a weapon on the premises of Heidelberg University.

© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa

Update from Monday, January 24th, 2022, 3:40 p.m.:

In a press release, the Mannheim police headquarters confirmed that the perpetrator had entered the lecture hall of the University of Heidelberg with a long gun and shot around there.

He injured four people, some seriously.

He then fled to the outside area.

According to police information, the perpetrator is dead. It is assumed that the perpetrator was a single perpetrator and that there is no longer any danger.

A press conference is planned for Monday afternoon (01/24/2022) around 7:00 p.m.

Heidelberg: rampage on university campus with several injuries – attacker dead after attack in lecture hall

First report from Monday, January 24th, 2022, 2:20 p.m.:

Heidelberg – There was a killing spree on the premises of Heidelberg University.

A lone perpetrator injured several people in a lecture hall with a long gun on Monday afternoon, the police said.

The perpetrator is now dead.

The police are with a large contingent on the premises of Heidelberg University.

© R.Priebe//Pr-Video/dpa

Neuenheimer Feld is a new development area.

There are, among other things, the botanical garden and parts of the university hospital.

A police spokesman told Welt that after the killing spree in a university lecture hall in Neuenheimer Feld, a single perpetrator was assumed.

The spokesman did not say whether the perpetrator was a student.

Heidelberg: Targeted attack or killing spree?

As the dpa news agency reported, the attack was a killing spree.

However, there is still no official confirmation that the perpetrator chose his victims at random.

According to Heidelberg24, the Heidelberg university campus remains largely closed*.

According to dpa information, four people were injured in the killing spree.

According to security sources, one of the victims was fatally injured when the shots were fired in the university lecture hall.

Heidelberg rampage: perpetrator is said to have shot himself

According to dpa information, the gunman himself is said to have been a student, but this has not yet been officially confirmed.

According to the first findings, the man who shot himself in a university lecture hall on Monday afternoon had no political or religious motives, according to security circles.

He had several long guns with him and is said to have finally shot himself.

Details were not initially known.

The police asked motorists to drive around the site so that rescue workers can drive freely.

(lm/vbu/cs/tu with dpa/AFP) *