crime
SEK deployment and arrest after fatal shots in Asperg
Forensic investigators examine the crime scene. photo
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
The town of Asperg is shaken by an act of violence. Shots are fired, one dead and one seriously injured. Special forces arrest a man – is it the suspected shooter?
After the deadly shots in Asperg in the Stuttgart region, a police special task force arrested a man. As a police spokesman said, the man was taken away from a residential building early on Saturday evening. There is a connection to the bloody act early on Saturday morning, in which an 18-year-old was killed and another 18-year-old was seriously injured.
The spokesman did not want to say whether the arrested person is a suspect, referring to the ongoing investigation. The “Bild” newspaper first reported on the arrest.
On Saturday, the public prosecutor’s office and the police were tight-lipped and gave little information about the case. Just this much: shots were fired shortly before 1:00 a.m. on Saturday night, an 18-year-old died and a person of the same age survived with serious injuries. Numerous people alerted the police after the shots echoed through the night, a spokesman said.
Details of the course of the crime were not available from the authorities in the morning either. The investigators hoped that the population would provide information on possible escape vehicles. The public prosecutor’s office and the police said in a brief statement on Saturday morning that an extensive search had been carried out for suspects during the night. A police helicopter was also used.
A special commission was set up to clear up the case as quickly as possible. The 40 officers of the Soko “Goethe” would be supported by the State Criminal Police Office.
“This is a new dimension of violence”
Asperg is around 20 kilometers from Stuttgart. In the past few weeks, there have been repeated incidents of shots being fired at people around the state capital of Baden-Württemberg. According to their own statements, the investigators are examining a connection between the crime in Asperg and other shots in the region.
According to Asperg’s mayor Christian Eiberger (independent), the city’s population is in shock after the crime. “This is a new dimension of violence that I could not have imagined,” said Eiberger. The crime scene is in the middle of town.
The crime scene, a gravel parking lot, was not known as a typical meeting place for young people, said Eiberger. He was alerted by the fire brigade during the night and got an idea of the situation in the early hours of the morning. He now hopes that the police will find the man quickly. It is important that the population’s sense of security is restored.