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Police officers on Zimmerstrasse on Monday morning
Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
After a man was fatally shot at the Checkpoint Charlie tourist attraction in the center of Berlin, the police are investigating the background to the crime.
The 44-year-old man was walking on Zimmerstrasse near Friedrichstrasse on Sunday evening around 8 p.m. "when suddenly shots were fired," as the police and public prosecutor's office announced on Monday.
"The 44-year-old was hit several times and collapsed on the sidewalk." Witnesses immediately alerted paramedics and the police.
The man was taken to hospital in an ambulance, but attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful.
The man died.
Crime scene cordoned off
A murder squad from the criminal police began investigating and searching for clues that evening.
The area around the former GDR border crossing Checkpoint Charlie, which is on the border between Berlin-Mitte and Kreuzberg, was cordoned off extensively.
According to a report by the "BZ", the police searched several people on site that evening to determine whether they could have been involved in the crime.
It was therefore about possible residue from firing a firearm.
The police investigation was still ongoing at Checkpoint Charlie on Monday morning.
Police officers interviewed residents and employees in the surrounding shops in the cordoned off area.
kfr/dpa