In the trial surrounding the attack on rescue workers in a high-rise building in Ratingen, a 57-year-old German was sentenced to life in prison for attempted murder. The Düsseldorf regional court found Alfred P. guilty on Wednesday morning and noted the particular gravity of his guilt. This means that release from prison after 15 years is legally possible, but in practice it is almost impossible.
Police, fire and rescue services came to the man’s apartment on the tenth floor of a high-rise building on May 11, 2023. The property management of the apartment block had raised the alarm because P. and his elderly mother had not been seen for weeks and the mailbox was overflowing. But instead of a helpless person, P. lurked behind a barricade of water tanks, poured several liters of gasoline on nine emergency services and ignited the gas-air mixture, causing it to explode. A fireball hit the emergency services.
Several of them were in acute danger of death after the attack; eight of the nine injured will have permanent injuries. A lawyer for the injured rescue workers emphasized in the trial that everything suddenly changed for the victims on May 11th. Most would probably not be able to return to their job and would suffer the consequences for the rest of their lives.
The defendant remained silent about the crime until the end. He also received the verdict on Wednesday without moving. A psychiatrist reported that he had developed a penchant for conspiracy theories during the corona pandemic. He described the Covid vaccination as the “vaccine of the devil” and state institutions such as the employment office as “tools of the devil”. He also claimed that his mother’s medication had been poisoned. The man had lived with her decomposed body in the apartment for weeks.