crime
Entrenched man is dead – many questions unanswered in Vieritz
Forensics employees investigate the crime scene. photo
© Cevin Dettlaff/TNN/dpa
Because of the possible danger to a child, the police deployed special forces in Brandenburg on Friday. A major operation lasting more than 34 hours followed, at the end of which the suspected perpetrator was dead.
The Potsdam public prosecutor’s office has therefore initiated a death investigation, it was said. The suspect’s body is scheduled for an autopsy on Sunday. A result is expected in the coming days.
The police went to the house in the Vieritz district with a large contingent on Friday afternoon. It was about the possible endangerment of a child. The officials should provide administrative assistance to the youth welfare office and enforce a corresponding decision from the district court. Whether it was about a custody dispute or whether the child was taken into care was one of many questions that remained unanswered on Sunday.
Always exchanges of fire
The man had barricaded himself in the building with the child, the mother and another man. There were repeated exchanges of gunfire between the suspect and the officers, said spokeswoman Schröder. “The man fired shots at police officers and the colleagues on site reacted accordingly,” she emphasized. “I wouldn’t limit the exchanges of fire in time, but would schedule them over the entire course of the operation.”
On Friday evening, the emergency services finally managed to overpower the second man, who was also armed, when he came to the door. He was arrested and has been in the Wriezen prison ever since. Mother and child were also able to leave the house on Saturday night. The child was handed over to the youth welfare office. Age and gender are also not yet known. The police also did not provide any information on Sunday about their relatives or acquaintances.
Forensics in action
The now dead suspect remained in the house until the end, barricading himself there until late into the night. On Saturday evening, emergency services managed to get into the building. At around 12:30 a.m. they were able to get to the man, who they found lifeless in the attic of the house. An emergency doctor could only determine death.
“It’s exciting, it’s affecting, there are and were many questions,” said the mayor of the community, Felix Menzel, to the German Press Agency on Sunday. There will be follow-up for the primary schools in the community and also for the people in the affected district of Vieritz. “I hope for the people of Vieritz and the region that they can deal with the situation,” said Menzel.
Forensics were on site on Sunday. According to the police, the forces found “a variety of weapons” on the premises and in the building, including a hand grenade. More weapons were found “than expected,” said the police spokeswoman on Sunday, without specifying what exactly was expected. There was also no information about the type of other weapons.