According to information from SWR, the hostage taker from Ulm is a soldier in the Bundeswehr. He had several hostages in his power on Friday. The police are now providing further details.
According to information from SWR, the suspected perpetrator of the hostage-taking in Ulm is a soldier in the Bundeswehr. However, he should not be a member of the Ulm location. The man apparently comes from northern Germany.
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Ulm: The alleged perpetrator is said to be 44 years old
Meanwhile, the police, public prosecutor’s office and the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) of Baden-Württemberg announced further details about the crime on Saturday. Accordingly, the alleged perpetrator is 44 years old. He is said to have entered the café on Münsterplatz armed on Friday evening around 6:45 p.m. There were 13 people there at that time. Some were able to leave the café straight away, or the suspected perpetrator let them go, according to the police. The 44-year-old had six people under his control over a long period of time.
Seriously injured by gunfire
Eventually the man let five of them go and stayed in the restaurant with one hostage. The suspect then suddenly appeared in front of the café with this hostage at around 8:20 p.m. and threatened them with one of the weapons. According to the police, the emergency services then shot the 44-year-old in a targeted manner in order to render him unable to act.
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The suspected perpetrator was seriously injured by the emergency services’ shots. He was taken to a hospital. According to the public prosecutor’s office and the police, the hostages remained uninjured and were immediately looked after by emergency pastors.
More weapons in his bag and car
The weapons the 44-year-old had with him were deceptively real-looking soft air weapons. The police initially assumed that the man had a pistol and a long gun with him. The police later found several knives, axes and a machete in a bag the suspect was carrying and in his car.
Motive completely unclear – why was the hostage taker in Ulm?
The motive for the hostage-taking is still unclear the day after the crime. It is also unclear why the man, who apparently comes from northern Germany, was in Ulm. The German Press Agency learned from security circles that the man wanted to be shot by the police. The police and public prosecutor’s office initially did not want to confirm personal information about the alleged perpetrator.
Traces are being secured after the hostage-taking in a café in Ulm on Friday evening. A suspected perpetrator had six hostages in his power.
State Criminal Police Office: Further investigations with 3D scans
The investigation into the hostage-taking is being conducted by the criminal investigation department of the Ulm police headquarters. The focus of the LKA’s investigation is a detailed reconstruction of the entire crime sequence, it said. For this purpose, the crime scene and the criminally relevant traces would be digitally documented by specialists using a 3D scan.
In addition, it is currently being examined whether witnesses can be heard. If it is clear whether the suspect is capable of being questioned, he will be brought before a judge, it was said on Saturday afternoon.
The traces of the hostage-taking are still visible on Münsterplatz the day after.