Rhineland-Palatinate
“The shoot”: Police officers shot dead at traffic control – they wore uniform and protective vests
Rhineland-Palatinate, Kusel: Police officers block access to the scene of the crime, where two police officers were shot during a traffic check
© Thomas Frey / DPA
A civil patrol checked a car in the Palatinate early Monday morning. Shots are fired. Two young police officers die, the perpetrators flee. The dismay throughout Germany is great.
After the deadly shots at two young police officers in the Palatinate, the investigators are looking for the fugitives in several federal states. According to information from security circles, the 24-year-old police candidate and the 29-year-old police officer were able to send out a radio message early Monday morning with the words: “They shoot.” Shortly before, they had informed their colleagues that they had found dead game in a vehicle. The perpetrators initially fled. Politicians and police representatives in Rhineland-Palatinate and nationwide reacted with shock.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said: “Regardless of the motive behind the crime, this crime is reminiscent of an execution and it shows that police officers risk their lives every day for our security.”
Background largely unclear
The two victims were traveling in a civilian patrol car, but were wearing uniforms and safety vests, a police spokeswoman reported. It was initially unclear why they had stopped the car on District Road 22 in Ulmet. “A control point was not set up,” said a police spokesman. According to what first became known about what had happened, the officers had probably moved closer to the vehicle and started checking when the shots were fired at around 4:20 a.m.
When reinforcements arrived at the scene, the 24-year-old police officer was found dead and her 29-year-old colleague injured. The man later succumbed to his injuries. According to the police union (GdP), the police officer who was shot was a student. The 24-year-old police candidate was still studying at the police university, the GdP announced on Monday. According to a police spokesman, no further information on the background to the events and the perpetrators could be given at the moment starsince the only witnesses known so far are dead.
Police officers who were shot came from Saarland
It was not immediately clear how often the shots were fired. The police could not initially confirm that the two were killed with headshots. But the protective vests reached from the waist to the neck. The police assumed that an autopsy would be ordered. The number of perpetrators and their car were initially unknown.
According to Saarbrücken Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU), the victims both came from Saarland. He had asked his Interior Minister Klaus Bouillon (CDU) “to set the flags in Saarland at half-mast as an expression of sadness and solidarity,” said Hans on Twitter on Monday.
According to a statement from his state chancellery, the head of government was “deeply shaken” and “absolutely stunned”. The Saarland police support their colleagues in Rhineland-Palatinate “with all means in the investigation of this terrible crime”. Hans emphasized: “My thoughts are with the relatives and I wish the families, friends and colleagues a lot of strength in these difficult hours.”
Traces were secured at the crime scene on Monday. A description of the getaway vehicle used was not initially known. The direction of escape was also not clear, it said in the early afternoon. “There are a lot of tips from the population,” said the police spokeswoman. These would be evaluated one by one. She cannot yet say whether there is a hot lead underneath.
District road 22 was completely blocked at Mayweilerhof and Ulmet. The police asked residents not to pick up hitchhikers in the Kusel district. At least one suspect is armed.
Witnesses who have noticed something suspicious are asked to contact the Kaiserslautern police on 0631 3692620.
Union “devastated”, Prime Minister Dreyer “shocked”
The police union (GdP) has expressed “deep dismay at the violent death of a colleague” from the West Palatinate police headquarters. “Our thoughts are with the relatives of the two dead and also with all colleagues. We are living through the real nightmare of all police officers,” said state chairwoman Sabrina Kunz on Monday morning in Mainz.
“Our deepest condolences go to the relatives. Hopefully the perpetrators can be arrested promptly so that possible dangers for the population are averted,” said Kunz. “This unscrupulous action and the act stunned me.” She appealed to the citizens in the Kaiserslautern area to refrain from meetings against Corona on Monday, out of consideration for the terrible act and the investigations, for which many forces would be needed.
The Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, and Interior Minister Roger Lewentz were also “deeply shocked”. “Our thoughts are with the relatives,” said a statement from the two SPD politicians in Mainz. “The act is appalling. We are deeply saddened that two young people lost their lives in the line of duty.”
Due to the events, the Prime Minister, in agreement with the Minister of the Interior, ordered mourning flags to be displayed (half-mast) in the country as a visible sign of mourning. Black ribbons are provided for all patrol cars in the country.