Felix Adrian Schäper does not want to talk to the press – at least for the time being.
He is a member of the board of the “Trans*-Inter*-Münster” association.
It was only a few minutes this Friday since the police and prosecutors announced that his club colleague Malte C. had died as a result of a brutal attack.
"But you are welcome to come to the rally, which is now a funeral service," says Schäper on the phone.
It took place on Friday evening at the town hall in Münster.
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The 25-year-old transman Malte C. was attacked last Saturday on the sidelines of a Christopher Street Day meeting in Münster after he had defended several women.
According to witnesses, a previously unknown man between the ages of 18 and 20 called the women “lesbian whore” or “piss off” and approached them threateningly.
Malte C. rushed to their aid and tried to mediate.
Suddenly, the man punched him in the face several times.
Malte C. lost consciousness and hit the asphalt with the back of his head.
The perpetrator fled with an unknown companion.
After the attack, the seriously injured Malte C. was no longer responsive, rescue workers took him to the hospital.
He was in an induced coma for several days.
On Friday morning, the police and the public prosecutor's office announced in a joint statement that Malte C. had succumbed to his injuries.
Homophobic attacks increased by 50 percent in 2021
According to the police, his mediation efforts are said to have been the trigger for the attack.
The police are still looking for witnesses.
An investigative commission had already been set up in the case at the beginning of the week.
It was said on Friday that further information was received to identify the perpetrator, but this “has not yet led to success”.
The police did not provide any further details about the course of events, such as whether Malte C. knew the women he had wanted to help, for "investigative tactical reasons".
Münster's chief of police, Alexandra Dorndorf, was shocked.
"The Münster police are doing everything they can to determine who is responsible for this terrible act of violence," it said.
"Our sympathy goes to the family, relatives and friends of the deceased." The Bishop of Münster, Felix Genn, said on Twitter that he was deeply shocked: "What a barbaric, what an insane act." Also Sven Lehmann, Queer -Federal Government Commissioner, expressed his condolences.
"Malte C.'s death makes me sad and stunned," he said.
"I hope that Malte's death will shake up our society." Queer violence can be deadly.
"We all have to stand up against this violence every day." According to data from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the number of recorded homophobic attacks rose by 50 percent in 2021,
870 offenses were reported.
Attacks based on gender or sexual identity even increased by 66 percent to 350 recorded crimes.
Attacks on people who are trans or do not identify as male or female fall into this category.
"Malte's death shows how massively queer hostility is still rooted in our society," says René Mertens, spokesman for the lesbian and gay association.
He estimates that up to 90 percent of cases go unrecorded or not properly classified.
And: "There is a low willingness to report, queer people are often not taken seriously by the police." There must be specific contacts for queer people at the police and the public prosecutor's office.
"Visibility needs security," says Mertens, referring to the diversity in a society.
"If queer couples have to look around before every kiss to see if someone might attack them, then that is a massive restriction of their basic freedoms."