crime
After the hand grenade attack: charges of attempted murder
A forensics employee measures traces at the crime scene in a cemetery. photo
© Christoph Schmidt/dpa
Serious acts of violence have been committed in the Stuttgart area since July 2022. Investigators arrest dozens of people and some people are facing charges. Now also against a suspected explosives thrower.
Two rival groups in the Stuttgart area have been waging a bloody feud for many months, culminating in a hand grenade attack on a mourning community in Altbach near Esslingen. The Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office has now brought charges against the 23-year-old suspected grenade thrower, among other things, for attempted murder. Five men were also charged with attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.
The 23-year-old Iranian is said to be, according to the Prosecutors on Thursday deliberately detonated and threw the hand grenade. This was actually supposed to land on the forecourt of the funeral hall, where the mourners had gathered. However, the explosive device was deflected and landed about 30 meters from the forecourt, where it also exploded. The steel balls released injured at least 15 mourners, some seriously.
The five men aged 19 to 21 are said to have punched and kicked the 23-year-old, who had fled after throwing the hand grenade, while he was in a taxi waiting for him and dragged him out of the taxi. The suspects – two with German, two with Turkish and one with Georgian nationality – are also said to have punched and kicked the 23-year-old in the unprotected head. Paramedics are said to have threatened them with death and thus prevented them from carrying out rescue measures. The 23-year-old lost consciousness, seriously injured. All suspects are in custody.
Investigators suspect rival groups
Since July 20, 2022, there have been acts of violence in the greater Stuttgart area, which investigators suspect are rival groups – and people have been shot at again and again. There have been 34 arrests so far in connection with the shootings in the Stuttgart area. There were incidents in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, in Plochingen, in Asperg in the Ludwigsburg district and in Eislingen in the Göppingen district, among others. The attack in Altbach marked the climax of the conflict so far.
Only on Wednesday, four people involved were sentenced to prison terms of several years. The men were accused of taking part in an exchange of fire between two groups in front of a restaurant in Esslingen-Mettingen in September last year. The men had to answer for attempted murder, a court spokesman said. Two of them were also accused of illegal possession of weapons. According to a court spokesman, the main defendant was sentenced to seven years and nine months in prison. Another defendant received a youth sentence of five years. Two people involved were each sentenced to four years and three years in prison. The judgments are not yet final.
According to investigators, the perpetrators tried to consolidate or achieve their position in the respective group through excessive acts. It’s about recognition and respect. Experts refer to the phenomenon as “masculinity legitimized by violence.” The suspects are male, between 19 and 26 years old, and many have a migrant background. In total, there are roughly 300 members on both sides.