+ A
A -
dpa
Mainz, Germany
Detectives investigating the killing of two police officers in western Germany on Monday have seized a large arsenal of weapons from the suspects.
According to security sources on Tuesday, police found five handguns, a bolt-action rifle, 10 other long guns, a crossbow, a silencer and ammunition during a house search in Spiesen-Elversberg, a small town in Saarland.
Investigators reportedly assume that a 38-year-old suspect who was arrested on Monday evening had access to the weapons.
Two long guns were discovered in the house of the second suspect, they said.
A 24-year-old female police cadet and a 29-year-old senior inspector were shot and killed during a traffic check on a district road in the town of Kusel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, early on Monday morning.
According to information from security sources, the officers had previously reported by radio that the carcass of a game animal had been found in a vehicle. Later they radioed “they are shooting.” The 29-year-old chief inspector was allegedly shot four times, including once in the head. He himself had fired 14 times. He was still alive when colleagues reached the scene, but died soon afterwards as medical responders arrived.
The 24-year-old cadet, who was shot in the head, may have been holding a torch and papers in her hand when she was killed, and did not fire her weapon.
The German Hunting Association says the 38-year-old was not in possession of a valid hunting licence. It appears the authorities in Saarland had rejected his application to obtain a hunting licence due to his lack of reliability.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the two suspects had no previous convictions. However, the 38-year-old had already come to the attention of the police for poaching and hit-and-run offences, Frank Gautsche, director of criminal investigation, said at a press conference in Kaiserslautern on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old was known to the police for fraud offences. He has admitted to poaching and has given an account of Monday’s shootings to investigators.
He has denied firing any shots himself, Senior Public Prosecutor Stefan Orthen said. However, investigators assume that both suspects fired weapons.
There are no indications of a politically motivated crime. For example, there are no indications that the suspects had connections to the so-called Reich citizens’ scene, the investigators announced on Tuesday.
Mainz, Germany
Detectives investigating the killing of two police officers in western Germany on Monday have seized a large arsenal of weapons from the suspects.
According to security sources on Tuesday, police found five handguns, a bolt-action rifle, 10 other long guns, a crossbow, a silencer and ammunition during a house search in Spiesen-Elversberg, a small town in Saarland.
Investigators reportedly assume that a 38-year-old suspect who was arrested on Monday evening had access to the weapons.
Two long guns were discovered in the house of the second suspect, they said.
A 24-year-old female police cadet and a 29-year-old senior inspector were shot and killed during a traffic check on a district road in the town of Kusel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, early on Monday morning.
According to information from security sources, the officers had previously reported by radio that the carcass of a game animal had been found in a vehicle. Later they radioed “they are shooting.” The 29-year-old chief inspector was allegedly shot four times, including once in the head. He himself had fired 14 times. He was still alive when colleagues reached the scene, but died soon afterwards as medical responders arrived.
The 24-year-old cadet, who was shot in the head, may have been holding a torch and papers in her hand when she was killed, and did not fire her weapon.
The German Hunting Association says the 38-year-old was not in possession of a valid hunting licence. It appears the authorities in Saarland had rejected his application to obtain a hunting licence due to his lack of reliability.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the two suspects had no previous convictions. However, the 38-year-old had already come to the attention of the police for poaching and hit-and-run offences, Frank Gautsche, director of criminal investigation, said at a press conference in Kaiserslautern on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old was known to the police for fraud offences. He has admitted to poaching and has given an account of Monday’s shootings to investigators.
He has denied firing any shots himself, Senior Public Prosecutor Stefan Orthen said. However, investigators assume that both suspects fired weapons.
There are no indications of a politically motivated crime. For example, there are no indications that the suspects had connections to the so-called Reich citizens’ scene, the investigators announced on Tuesday.
