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Germany Shooting Leaves at Least 11 Dead in Far-Right Attack Germany Shooting Is Deadliest Yet in Upsurge of Far-Right Attacks
(about 1 hour later)
HANAU, Germany — The man who was believed to have killed nine people when he opened fire on two bars in heavily immigrant neighborhoods in the central German city of Hanau was likely driven by a “xenophobic motive,” security officials said on Thursday. HANAU, Germany — A German gunman driven by racism and diffuse conspiracy theories opened fire on two bars frequented by immigrants late Wednesday, killing nine people and shocking a nation where violent crimes targeting minorities have spiked against the backdrop of a resurgent far right.
The suspect, a 43-year-old German who has not been publicly identified, and his mother were both found dead with gunshot wounds in his apartment early Thursday, Peter Beuth, the interior minister for the central state of Hesse, told regional lawmakers in the state capital, Wiesbaden. Politicians scrambled to express their sorrow and horror at the attack, which security officials said on Thursday was carried out by a 43-year-old German who appeared to have been driven by ethnic hatred.
Federal prosecutors took over the investigation the shooting in Hanau, a city of about 95,000 people that is 10 miles east of Frankfurt, on suspicion that the shooting was a terrorist attack amid indications of “a far-right motive,” Mr. Beuth said. The shooting in Hanau, 15 miles east of Frankfurt, was the most violent in a growing string of attacks targeting ethnic minorities, or Germans who openly support them, in a country roiled by bitter debates over immigration in recent years.
“Everything is being done to clarify the background of these horrible murders to the last detail,” Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin. “But at present there is much evidence that the perpetrator acted out of right-wing extremist, racist motives. Out of hatred against people of other origins, other beliefs or other outward appearances.”
“Racism is a poison,” Ms. Merkel said. “Hatred is a poison.”
The suspect and his mother, neither of whom were officially identified, were both found shot dead in his apartment early Thursday, said Peter Beuth, the interior minister for the central state of Hesse.
Germany has some of the world’s strictest gun laws and last year moved to tighten them further, including requiring background checks, after a spike in shootings carried out by right-wing extremists.
The local authorities in Hanau said the gunman had been in possession of a valid gun license for marksmanship. The license was issued to Tobias Rathjen, said an official from the Main-Kinzig administration who declined to be named because he was not authorized to disclose the information.
Terrorism experts and several German media outlets identified the shooter as Tobias R., whose photos matched the images of a man who posted a nearly two-minute screed on the YouTube page of a Tobias Rathjen, which has since been taken down.
Speaking in accented English, he addressed Americans, citing various conspiracy theories and calling on them to “Fight now.”
Mr. Beuth declined to confirm that the gunman had left a video and a letter about the attack, but said that the authorities were examining a website attributed to the suspect, who had not previously been on their radar, either as a far-right extremist or a criminal.
Federal prosecutors took over the investigation of the shooting in Hanau, a city of about 95,000 people, on suspicion that the shooting was a terrorist attack amid indications of “a far-right motive,” Mr. Beuth said.
This latest shooting now adds to an expanding number of attacks in that category in a political environment that has grown more aggressive, especially since the Alternative for Germany party became the first far-right party to enter Germany’s national Parliament since World War II.
In June, a conservative politician whose name had appeared on a neo-Nazi hit list circulated online was fatally shot in the head in what officials believe was the country’s first far-right political assassination since the Nazi era.
Less than six months later, a right-wing gunman killed two Germans — a passer-by and a customer at a kebab shop — after a failed attempt to storm a synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur.
Last week, the authorities broke up a suspected far-right terrorist network, arresting 12 people, including a member of the police force
In the past three decades, the German population has grown increasingly diverse, leading to bitter dispute over who qualifies as German and who is still considered a “foreigner” in a country where roughly a quarter of the nearly 82 million inhabitants are immigrants or descendants of immigrants.
That debate became especially inflamed after Ms. Merkel’s decision in 2015 to open Germany’s borders to more than a million asylum seekers, many from wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The conflict over the country’s cultural identity spilled into the streets in the eastern city of Chemnitz in August 2018, when Germans flashing Nazi salutes and shouting “Foreigners out!” clashed with others chanting “Refugees welcome.”
The rioting followed the fatal stabbing of a 35-year-old German. A year later, a Syrian asylum seeker was convicted of manslaughter in the killing.
Kemal Kocak, a cashier at a convenience store next to the Arena Cafe & Bar, the second to be attacked, said that he had arrived at the scene soon after the shootings and found a “catastrophe.”Kemal Kocak, a cashier at a convenience store next to the Arena Cafe & Bar, the second to be attacked, said that he had arrived at the scene soon after the shootings and found a “catastrophe.”
“Afghani, Bosnian, Pole, two Turks, a Roma,” said Mr. Kocak, who said he had known virtually all of the victims.“Afghani, Bosnian, Pole, two Turks, a Roma,” said Mr. Kocak, who said he had known virtually all of the victims.
Mr. Beuth declined to confirm reports from German news organizations that the gunman had left a video and a letter about the attack, but said that the authorities were examining a website attributed to the suspect, who had not previously been on their radar, either as a far-right extremist or a criminal. The attacks were among the bloodiest in the country’s recent memory and come at a time of growing concern about an increasingly emboldened and violent far right.
“Initial results point to a xenophobic motive,” Mr. Beuth said. The attacks were among the bloodiest in the country’s recent memory and come at a time of growing concern about an increasingly emboldened and violent far right. “I condemn this act in sharpest terms,” Mr. Beuth told state lawmakers, who gathered to hold a moment of silence for the victims before canceling their planned session. “It is an attack on our free and democratic society.”
“I condemn this act in sharpest terms. It is an attack on our free and democratic society,” Mr. Beuth told state lawmakers, who gathered to hold a moment of silence for the victims before canceling their planned session. Flags on public buildings across the state were ordered lowered to half-staff. Flags on public buildings across the state were ordered lowered to half-staff. A school and several day care centers in the area remained closed on Thursday, the city’s mayor said on Facebook.
Mr. Beuth said that the police, acting on tips from citizens and information from surveillance cameras, were able to identify the suspect within hours of the shooting late Wednesday. In the early hours of Thursday morning, special forces stormed his apartment where they found his body and that of his 72-year-old mother. Both had been shot, Mr. Beuth said.
Several streets were still blocked off with red-and-white police tape, as officers combed the crime scenes for evidence. A school and several day care centers in the area remained closed on Thursday, the city’s mayor said on Facebook.
The shootings took place at two bars, the Midnight and another establishment, the Arena Cafe & Bar, that were popular with young people from the city’s tight-knit Kurdish and Turkish communities.The shootings took place at two bars, the Midnight and another establishment, the Arena Cafe & Bar, that were popular with young people from the city’s tight-knit Kurdish and Turkish communities.
“This is a mixed neighborhood. There are people from all over, Afghans, Syrians, Africans,” said Ismail Oezenc, who is unemployed and lives in central Hanau. He said the area used to be a lively center of night-life, but now the streets are lined with several electronic gaming halls and kebab shops. “This is a mixed neighborhood. There are people from all over, Afghans, Syrians, Africans,” said Ismail Oezenc, who is unemployed and lives in central Hanau.
He said the area used to be a lively center of night-life, but now the streets are lined with several electronic gaming halls and kebab shops.
The police had cordoned off the block around the Midnight Bar, which faces a pedestrian area lined with gaming parlors, kebab restaurants and small hotels. Fluorescent paint markings could be seen on the sidewalk, seemingly made by police officers securing evidence.The police had cordoned off the block around the Midnight Bar, which faces a pedestrian area lined with gaming parlors, kebab restaurants and small hotels. Fluorescent paint markings could be seen on the sidewalk, seemingly made by police officers securing evidence.
Small groups of residents talked among themselves, but life in the neighborhood was already returning to normal. A gaming parlor several doors down from the shooting scene was already full of patrons.Small groups of residents talked among themselves, but life in the neighborhood was already returning to normal. A gaming parlor several doors down from the shooting scene was already full of patrons.
An increasing number of attacks by violent far-right extremists have taken place in Germany in recent months, including the killing of a local politician who expressed support for refugees and an attack on a synagogue in Halle.
Last week, the authorities broke up a suspected far-right terrorist network, arresting 12 people, including a member of the police force.
Tarek Al Wazir, the economy minister for the state of Hesse, drew comparisons to Anders Brevik, who went on a rampage in Norway in 2011 that killed 77 people, and the attacker in Halle, saying that he believed the gunman appeared to have been self-radicalized.Tarek Al Wazir, the economy minister for the state of Hesse, drew comparisons to Anders Brevik, who went on a rampage in Norway in 2011 that killed 77 people, and the attacker in Halle, saying that he believed the gunman appeared to have been self-radicalized.
“We know this from Islamic terrorism, that people radicalize over the Internet videos and in chat groups radicalize,” he told Germany’s n-tv news outlet. “We know this from Islamic terrorism, that people radicalize over the Internet videos and in chat groups radicalize,” he told Germany’s N-TV news outlet.
The first attack took place at around 10 p.m. at the Midnight, a hookah bar — sometimes referred to as a shisha bar, named for the water pipes that are smoked on the premises — that was popular with young people from the local Kurdish and Turkish community.The first attack took place at around 10 p.m. at the Midnight, a hookah bar — sometimes referred to as a shisha bar, named for the water pipes that are smoked on the premises — that was popular with young people from the local Kurdish and Turkish community.
Shortly afterward, residents in Hanau started posting warnings on social media with the license plate number of a car urging people to remain inside their homes.Shortly afterward, residents in Hanau started posting warnings on social media with the license plate number of a car urging people to remain inside their homes.
German media cited witnesses who reported seeing a vehicle fleeing from the scene, and the police later said they were searching for “a dark car” in connection with the attack.German media cited witnesses who reported seeing a vehicle fleeing from the scene, and the police later said they were searching for “a dark car” in connection with the attack.
The police said they were called to a different neighborhood in the city, and local media reported that more shots had been fired at the Arena Bar by a gunman who then fled the scene. At least nine people were killed at the two bars, another remained in serious condition and several others were injured, Mr. Beuth said.The police said they were called to a different neighborhood in the city, and local media reported that more shots had been fired at the Arena Bar by a gunman who then fled the scene. At least nine people were killed at the two bars, another remained in serious condition and several others were injured, Mr. Beuth said.
“There were bodies lying on the ground,” said Mr. Kocak, the cashier, who added that most of the victims were men. “There was blood everywhere.”“There were bodies lying on the ground,” said Mr. Kocak, the cashier, who added that most of the victims were men. “There was blood everywhere.”
“Our thoughts this morning are with the people in Hanau,” Steffen Seibert, the spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, wrote on Twitter. “Our deepest sympathies are with the families who are mourning their dead and we hope with the injured that they will heal soon.”“Our thoughts this morning are with the people in Hanau,” Steffen Seibert, the spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, wrote on Twitter. “Our deepest sympathies are with the families who are mourning their dead and we hope with the injured that they will heal soon.”
“A terrible evening,” the mayor of Hanau, Claus Kaminsky, told the newspaper Bild. “It will certainly occupy us for a long, long time and it will remain in our sad memories.” “It is one of the most bitter hours in our peacetime history,” the mayor of Hanau, Claus Kaminsky, told reporters.
Jack Ewing reported from Hanau, and Melissa Eddy from Berlin. Tiffany May and Austin Ramzy contributed reporting from Hong Kong. He called on citizens to take part in a memorial vigil later Thursday, adding: “We will do everything humanly possible to defend our shared solidarity . We will not allow it to be destroyed.”
Jack Ewing reported from Hanau, and Melissa Eddy from Berlin. Christopher F. Schuetze contributed reporting from Hanau and Tiffany May and Austin Ramzy from Hong Kong.