crime
After hours of criminal negotiations – the ex-soldier gives up
The police were on duty with a large contingent. photo
© Silas Stein/dpa
A forced eviction is getting out of hand. The resident, a former soldier, doesn’t want to leave his house and threatens to set it on fire. Tough negotiations and hours of waiting followed – then the breakthrough in the evening.
It’s a completely normal residential area. But the house looks run down, drones are constantly buzzing through the air and over the building – well into the evening. There are fir branches on the roof, the shutters on the windows are drawn. A 62-year-old ex-soldier barricaded himself in his house for around twelve hours on Tuesday Unterkirnach (Black Forest-Baar district). He is threatened with eviction. The bailiff had previously arrived, but then the situation escalated. The man threatens to set fire and burn the building down. The police go to the scene with a large contingent.
The investigators consider the man to be very dangerous. Heavily armed special operations commandos (SEK) move out – also with an armored vehicle. Several long guns and handguns are registered to the man. He also had an explosives permit and was a member of a shooting club. As a soldier, he did not belong to any special forces. There is no evidence that he belongs to the scene of so-called Reich citizens – the officials explicitly state this. “Reich citizens” are people who do not recognize the Federal Republic and its democratic structures.
However, it cannot be ruled out that there were weapons and a small amount of explosives in the 62-year-old’s house, reports a police spokesman on site. The residents of the adjacent single-family homes and semi-detached houses are being brought to safety. It is not stated how many people have to leave their homes. The 62-year-old’s house is largely cordoned off.
Police officers negotiated with the 62-year-old for hours and tried to get him to give up. Nothing happens for hours. Even after dark, the situation remains “static,” as the police say. The population is asked to avoid the street where the whole thing is taking place. The police and SEK forces have since withdrawn – but are in contact with the ex-soldier almost the entire time.
Unresisting arrest
The police have now set up a kind of base camp where the dark helmeted officers in full gear are waiting for a possible deployment. Rescue vehicles and the fire department are also on site.
Then suddenly there was a breakthrough in the negotiations with the man, which the police were now conducting with him by telephone. Officers get the 62-year-old to come out of the house and allow himself to be arrested. Special forces overwhelm him and he allows himself to be arrested without resistance.
Even after the arrest, nothing is known about the man’s specific motives. The investigation is now really starting, a police spokesman said in the evening. The first thing to do now is to secure the house – because it still cannot be ruled out that he had stored weapons and explosives in his house.
Unterkirnach is located in the southern Black Forest, around eight kilometers from the nearest larger town, Villingen-Schwenningen. According to the community, around 2,600 people live there.