After the rampage in Heidelberg: commemoration, minute's silence and the question of "why"
Created: 2022-02-04Updated: 2022-02-04 07:52
On Monday, Heidelberg mourns the loss of the young student who died in a rampage at the university.
At the commemoration, people keep asking “why”:
Heidelberg - On Monday (January 31) at 12 noon the bells of St. Peter's Church will ring.
The occasion is a sad one: the victims, the injured and all those affected by the rampage in Heidelberg* are remembered.
Around 350 people, all dressed in black, sit in the church and listen to the oppressive organ music.
Hundreds of other people are following the commemoration via live stream* - whether at home, at work or together at the University of Heidelberg.
city | Heidelberg |
resident | 160,355 (2019) |
Lord Mayor | Prof. Dr. Eckart Wuerzner |
After rampage in Heidelberg: commemoration commemorates victims - "Why only?"
As HEIDELBERG24* reports, university preacher Prof. Dr.
Helmut Schwier's funeral service in Heidelberg.
"Wait, we'll do that, a week after the terrible act of violence," with these words he begins the event shortly after 12 p.m.
"My heart is heavy, my soul is sore.
During the week talks with those affected, with those who are anxious, with those who are angry.
questions without answers.
Why?" he will ask during the mourning ceremony.
Rampage Heidelberg: commemoration in Peterskirche - mourning throughout the city
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The question of "why" is probably asked by each of the guests and spectators.
No one can find an answer for this yet and it remains to be seen if there will ever be one.
The motive and the exact background* are still completely unclear even a week after the cruel act.
At the funeral service, students, pastoral care and emergency services addressed their words to the deceased student († 23), the three injured, witnesses, families and friends.
But the perpetrator's relatives are also thought of and prayed for.
"How is his family?" It says, for example.
Rampage Heidelberg: Thomas Strobl at the commemoration – "Were there signals?"
At 12:16 p.m. there will be a minute's silence in St. Peter's Church.
Actually, this was only planned eight minutes later.
Because: At 12:24 p.m. on January 21, the first emergency calls to the police* were received, which is why this time was declared a minute’s silence.
It is unclear why it was brought forward.
The funeral service will take place on Monday in St. Peter's Church.
© HEIDELBERG24/Florian Römer
Strobl relies on trust and campaigns for the students so that they "don't have to be afraid".
One is with those affected - "not only with words, but also with deeds," he says in conclusion.
Heidelberg: Commemoration after rampage - mayor in shock
The Lord Mayor of Heidelberg, Prof. Dr.
Eckart Würzner, also speaks to the relatives and students.
You can still feel his dismay.
“I am the father of four adult children.
The worry that something might happen to them has been with us since the birth of our children.
If this idea comes true, darkness will fall over us,” says Würzner.
He makes it clear: one always seeks meaning after such a terrible act.
In the case of the killing spree, however, no one could be found.
It will now take weeks and months to mourn.
Heidelberg: One week after the killing spree – "Still stunned"
The funeral service in St. Peter's Church lasts about an hour and a half.
While the church is closed off from the outside, a few students gather in front of the New University in Heidelberg's old town.
There they lay out candles and flowers for their deceased fellow student.
The young student had just started her first semester in biology when she was shot by Nikolai G. († 18)*.
Students mourn the injuries and the deceased fellow student in the university canteen in Neuenheimer Feld.
© HEIDELBERG24/Florian Römer
Numerous students are also mourning on the university campus in Neuenheimer Feld, where the act of violence took place.
In an interview with HEIDELBERG24*, a student says: "I am still stunned by this senseless act." At this point, she is standing in front of the greenhouse of the botanical garden.
Just a few steps away is Building 360, where the gunman fired the fatal shots.
The young woman wishes to remain anonymous.
She just lit a candle.
(jol) *
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