As of: 09/21/2021 2:12 p.m.
The killing of a 20-year-old in a gas station in Rhineland-Palatinate caused political consternation. The Thuringian constitutional protector Kramer sees the act as a consequence of conspiracy fantasies.
Out of anger about the mask requirement in a gas station, a man is said to have shot a 20-year-old gas station cashier. The act causes horror far beyond Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland-Palatinate. Several politicians were deeply concerned.
“I am shocked by the terrible murder of a young man who only asked to follow the applicable rules, to be prudent and show solidarity,” said Green Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock. She expressed her condolences to the victim’s family. “I am very concerned about the radicalization of the maverick community,” she continued. Everyone is called upon to stand against the increasing hatred.
SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz declared that the perpetrator must be “severely punished”. He was shocked that “someone is killed because he wanted to protect himself and others”. Society must resolutely oppose hatred, he demanded. “My thoughts are with the family of the murder victim.”
CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemiak called the act “incomprehensible”. Ziemiak explained that a young person was almost executed for pointing out the mask requirement. This is an “incredible level of radicalization”.
The suspect initially fled
According to the investigators at the gas station in Idar-Oberstein, the 20-year-old victim is said to have informed the suspect of compliance with the mask requirement. There was a discussion. The man then left the gas station again.
About an hour and a half later, the suspect entered the gas station again, this time wearing a mouth and nose cover. When he was at the cash register, he pulled down the mask, whereupon there was another exchange of words. The suspect then pulled a revolver out of his pocket and fired a fatal shot at the cashier.
The perpetrator then fled on foot. A large manhunt in the night initially brought no results, it said. On Sunday morning, the suspect then appeared in front of the Idar-Oberstein police station, accompanied by a woman, where he was arrested by special forces. In his interrogation, the 49-year-old stated that he rejected the corona protective measures.
Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution warns of conspiracy theories
For the President of the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Stephan Kramer, the act is a consequence of right-wing extremist conspiracy fantasies. “The cold-blooded murder of the student who worked as a gas station cashier is terrible, but no surprise to me in view of the constant escalation in recent weeks,” Kramer told the editorial network in Germany.
He warned his colleagues about the escalation. “It is regrettable that there must always be deaths before the danger is taken seriously.”