Lower Saxony
Bundeswehr soldier reported for threats before committing the crime
Candles in front of a house in Brockel where a man is said to have shot two people. photo
© Focke Strangmann/dpa
Four people die in a violent act in the Rotenburg district. The suspect’s estranged wife and her new boyfriend apparently felt threatened and sought help.
Before the killing of four people in the district Rotenburg, the estranged wife and her new boyfriend reported the suspect. The criminal complaint was recently made because of a possible threat, said a spokesman for the Rotenburg police. The NDR had previously reported.
Afterwards there was a so-called threat speech, according to police spokesman Heiner van der Werp. Police officers explained the situation to the 32-year-old Bundeswehr soldier and described possible consequences. “So it’s a de-escalating measure.” The speaker did not know the exact content of the conversation. “Everything else will of course now be checked after the crimes,” said van der Werp. He is not aware of any further complaints against the suspect, but they cannot be ruled out.
The motive and other background information remain unclear. The suspect is said to have shot four people – including a child – on Friday in Westervesede, a town in the municipality of Scheeßel, and in Bockel, which is part of the municipality of Bothel. The Verden public prosecutor’s office and the police have not provided any information about the status of the investigation, nor about the suspect’s relationships with the victims.
The suspect is said to have turned himself in at the Von Düring barracks in the city of Rotenburg (Wümme) on Friday morning and was taken into custody on Friday afternoon. It is not initially known whether he commented on the crime.