As of: March 2nd, 2024 9:42 a.m
A 32-year-old Bundeswehr soldier apparently shot four people from his private environment in the Rotenburg district – including a child. He turned himself in after the crimes in Scheeßel and Bothel.
The Verden district court issued an arrest warrant on Friday on suspicion of quadruple murder, the police said. The 32-year-old was taken to a correctional facility and is now in custody. Investigators have not yet announced whether he has commented.
Videos
1 Min
There is also a child among the dead. According to police, the suspect then turned himself in. His motive is unclear. (03/01/2024) 1 min
Police: The shooter’s motive is unclear
The suspected perpetrator turned himself in shortly after the incidents in the communities of Scheeßel and Bothel early on Friday morning, the police said. He was then arrested at the barracks in Rotenburg. He had previously reported to the Bundeswehr station there. However, he was not stationed in this barracks, said a police spokesman. The man’s motive is currently unclear. “A motive in the family environment cannot be ruled out,” said the investigators. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said that there was much evidence that the crime was committed in a private context.
Pistorius speaks of “horrible act”
It was a “terrible act” that cannot be explained, said Pistorius on the sidelines of an event in Westerstede (Ammerland district). The Defense Minister also told “Spiegel Online” that if the background to the crime was a separation, this would be another terrible murder of women who have ended a relationship. “But that’s all speculation, I don’t want to and can’t take part in that right now.”
Shots in Westervesede and Brockel
According to initial information from the police, shots were fired in a single-family home in Westervesede in the municipality of Scheeßel early on Friday morning around 3:30 a.m. According to the Verden public prosecutor’s office, the suspect is said to have killed a 30-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman there. A short time later there were further shots in Brockel, around ten kilometers away in the municipality of Bothel. Shots are said to have been fired there too. A 33-year-old and her three-year-old child were killed. It was initially not known whether the soldier confessed to the crimes.
Molotov cocktail and weapons found – the latter from the Bundeswehr?
Investigators found weapons and ammunition in the car.
The investigators searched the suspect’s car, which he is said to have parked in the visitor parking lot of the barracks in Rotenburg after the crimes. Police say weapons, cartridges and a Molotov cocktail were found in the car. According to information from NDR Lower Saxony, there was also a stun grenade in the car. The ammunition includes a caliber of nine millimeters. The public prosecutor’s office initially did not provide any information as to whether the suspect’s weapons came from the possession of the Bundeswehr.
This topic in the program:
Hello Lower Saxony | March 1, 2024 | 19:30 o’clock