Gas station leaseholder died after knife attack in NRW – suspected perpetrator probably mentally ill
Created: 04/12/2022, 06:05
By: Christoph Gschossmann
A police vehicle is parked in front of a gas station in Lengerich.
© Nord-West-Media TV/dpa/archive image
After a knife attack on a gas station leaseholder, a 54-year-old died.
His body also had bullet wounds - which are likely to come from a police pistol.
Munich/Lengerich – The attack ended fatally: After a knife attack in a gas station in Lengerich, Münsterland (North Rhine-Westphalia), the victim, the 54-year-old tenant of the gas station, died.
The alleged attacker is still alive: he is still in critical condition, said a spokesman for the Münster public prosecutor on Saturday (December 3, 2022).
The investigation into a completed homicide is ongoing.
On Wednesday, the 43-year-old is said to have rammed a knife into the 54-year-old several times.
A police officer who actually only wanted to fill up his patrol car noticed the incident and intervened.
He shot the 43-year-old several times with his service weapon and seriously injured him, but also hit the victim.
However, the victim died from numerous knife wounds in the abdomen, as the autopsy has now revealed.
The three gunshot wounds - in the wrist and one each in the thighs - were not fatal, according to a statement by the police and prosecutors.
At first there was only talk of a gunshot wound to the victim's wrist.
Evidence of mental illness of the alleged knife attacker
According to the investigation, there are indications of a mental illness of the alleged knife attacker.
According to initial findings, the 43-year-old from Lengerich in the Steinfurt district had only harassed an employee behind the counter.
Then the tenant of the woman is said to have come to the rescue.
A short scramble followed, after which the 43-year-old is said to have stabbed the gas station operator several times.
A customer screamed for help, alerting the police officer who happened to be there to the attack.
The investigation into the motive for the crime is ongoing.
The 43-year-old did not ask for money - which would speak for a robbery.
There is no prior criminal knowledge about him.
(cgsc with dpa)
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