crime
Hostage taking in Ulm – What did the perpetrator want?
Emergency services shot the perpetrator and ended the hostage-taking. photo
© Marius Bulling/dpa
A man takes six people hostage at the tallest church tower in the world. It later turns out that his weapons were not real. What did the man want? The background is obscure.
With deceptively real soft-air weapons, a man took control of six hostages in a bar on Ulm’s Münsterplatz – the Police respond to the hostage situation by shooting at the man. All hostages remained unharmed. The 44-year-old German suspect was taken to hospital with serious injuries and underwent surgery. The background to the crime is still unclear. According to the police and public prosecutor’s office, the hostage taker had other weapons such as knives, axes and a machete in a bag and in the car.
“The investigative authorities are currently checking with the treating doctors whether the accused is fit for questioning so that he can be brought before the responsible magistrate,” said a statement on Saturday.
The man had entered a bar on Ulm’s Münsterplatz with what appeared to be real weapons, where there were around 13 people at the time. Even before the police arrived, some of the guests were able to leave the restaurant. The hostage taker took six people into his power using weapons that looked deceptively real. He later let five of them go and initially stayed in the restaurant with one hostage.
Police assumed real weapons
According to police, at 8:20 p.m. the suspect unexpectedly came out with the hostage and threatened them with a weapon. The police assumed there were real weapons and a significant danger. “As the operation continued, the 44-year-old was rendered incapacitated by targeted police firing,” the statement said. He was taken to hospital with serious injuries and his life was not in danger.
The alleged perpetrator was said to have been in the Bundeswehr, according to security sources. He is said to be an Afghanistan veteran. “Bild” had previously reported on this. According to dpa information, the 44-year-old has expressed suicidal intentions several times in the past. Based on the nationwide search and information from the soldier’s ex-wife, there were indications of the man’s whereabouts in Ulm.
“My heart was pumping”
Security circles reported that the man had stated during the hostage-taking that he wanted to be shot by the special operations command (SEK). The Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office took over the investigation.
The police had closed the central Münsterplatz in Ulm and the entrances there because of the operation. A passer-by reported to dpa that she heard three shots. “My heart was pumping.” At that moment she didn’t think anything at all and just ran away.
The hostages received psychological care from emergency counselors. The mayor of Ulm, Gunter Czisch (CDU), said he hoped everyone could process the dramatic event quickly. He was relieved that no hostage was physically injured.
Back to normality
Münsterplatz is located in the heart of the 130,000-inhabitant city on the Danube, on the border between Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. The cathedral, which has the highest church tower in the world at 161.53 meters, is the city’s landmark.
On Saturday the city center was full of people again, there was a market. A demonstration ran across the square in bright sunshine. The fact that there was a hostage-taking here on Friday was only evidenced by the closed restaurant.