Murder of gas station cashier
Shot in the dispute over the obligation to wear a mask: the court process begins
There are flowers in front of the gas station the day after the murder. Mourners remember the young man. Now the court process begins.
© Thomas Frey / Picture Alliance
The court case for an act that caused horror throughout Germany begins on Monday: an opponent of the mask requirement shot a 20-year-old cashier at a gas station because of a dispute about wearing a medical mask.
From Monday, a 50-year-old man who is said to have shot a gas station cashier in Idar-Oberstein in a dispute over the obligation to wear a mask will have to answer to the district court in Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate. The indictment accuses him of murdering the 20-year-old in September. The horror in Germany after the crime was great. In addition to murder, the accused are accused of illegally carrying the murder weapon and illegally possessing another firearm.
A dispute about the mask requirement
According to the indictment, the 50-year-old wanted to buy beer at the gas station on September 18. When paying, there is said to have been a brief discussion with the 20-year-old because the customer was not wearing a mouth and nose cover. The suspect left the gas station without the beer. At home he got more and more annoyed about the situation at the gas station and decided not to let the matter rest.
The accused is said to have long felt burdened by the restrictions imposed to combat the corona pandemic. In fact, he wanted to set an example. The man with the mask returned a good hour and a half after his first visit to the gas station. He then pulled them down at the checkout. He wanted to provoke a reaction from the 20-year-old.
Court process begins: the perpetrator turned himself in to the police after the murder
There was a brief exchange of words in which the man was asked to put the mask back on. The 50-year-old then pointed the gun at the cashier and shot him in the face. He then fled and, after an unsuccessful large-scale manhunt, turned himself in a day later.
The victim succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The accused saw him as partly responsible for the overall situation because he wanted to enforce the mask requirement. The 50-year-old, who is in custody, confessed to the crime extensively in his first interrogation, after which he remained silent. He had not appeared before the police.
Protection of the Constitution: action was a consequence of right-wing extremist conspiracy fantasies
The act triggered a broad discussion about a radicalization of the scene of corona deniers and so-called lateral thinkers. She was welcomed in far-right chats and forums. Politicians reacted with horror and dismay across all parties. The act was committed about a week before the general election and became one of the dominant issues in the final phase of the election campaign. The AfD was accused of being partly to blame for the radicalization of corona deniers.
The protection of the constitution, however, reacted with little surprise to the fact. According to the President of the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Stephan Kramer, it was a consequence of right-wing extremist conspiracy fantasies. The gas station lobby complained that there was a lot of pressure on companies and employees to implement the rules.
The reading of the indictment is planned for Monday at the beginning of the trial. The accused then has the opportunity to admit himself. There are initially 13 hearing dates scheduled until mid-May.