An 18-year-old German shot dead a student from his university on Monday, January 24, and injured three of his classmates when he entered an amphitheater of the establishment in Heidelberg (south-west), opening fire in full course before turning the gun on him.
About 30 students were present in the room when the shooter burst in and fired several shots using a "long weapon", probably a rifle, local police chief Siegfried Kollmar said.
The attack took place at midday, causing amazement in this famous university, the oldest in the country, located between Frankfurt and Stuttgart.
Police received the first emergency calls from inside the amphitheater at 12:24 p.m., with officers arriving on the scene ten minutes later, investigators told a news conference.
They discovered the body of the shooter, who had turned the gun on himself, outside the building.
A science student at this university, he was not known to the police, according to the first elements of the investigation.
The shooting injured four people, including a 23-year-old woman who died of her injuries in hospital a few hours later.
Three other students were injured in the legs, back and face, said Siegfried Kollmar.
The student suffered from a mental illness
The young man carried two weapons "bought abroad", according to the investigators, and "more than a hundred ammunition" were found in his backpack.
The motivations for this gesture remain, according to the prosecution, to be determined.
The investigators, however, reported "first clues" showing that he suffered "from a long-standing mental illness".
Shortly before the attack, the student had sent his father an alarmist Whatsapp message saying "people must be punished now" and also expressing his wish for a funeral at sea.
Investigators searched the gunman's home in nearby Mannheim to try to gather more information.
Prime Minister Olaf Scholz expressed his "dismay" after the tragedy.
It is "a terrible act of violence (...) in a renowned educational establishment", moved the president of the Land of Baden-Württemberg, where Heidelberg is located.
“Universities and the city of Heidelberg will remain fearless spaces where science can flourish and young people can prepare for the rest of their lives,” he said.
The medieval city of Heidelberg has a population of around 160,000.
Its university, founded in 1386, is the oldest in Germany and one of the most prestigious in Europe.
The attack led to a large police operation on the campus located on the north bank of the Neckar river, which notably hosts faculties of natural sciences, departments of the university hospital center and a botanical garden.
Classes resumed there in October after months of online teaching due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"My thoughts are with the victims and those on the spot. Thank you to the intervention forces for their service", wrote on Twitter the Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann.
Schreckliche Nachrichten erreichen uns aus #Heidelberg.
Meine Gedanken sind bei den Opfern und Menschen vor Ort.
Danke an die Einsatzkräfte für ihren Dienst.
— Marco Buschmann (@MarcoBuschmann) January 24, 2022
Strict arms control
Attacks on university campuses are extremely rare in Germany.
The country has one of the strictest gun laws in Europe requiring anyone under the age of 25 to pass a psychiatric examination before applying for a gun license.
German legislation was notably strengthened after two attacks perpetrated in schools in Erfurt (east) in April 2002, and Winnenden (southwest) in March 2009.
In 2016 in Munich, nine people were killed when the maniac David Ali Sonboly opened fire in a shopping center.
At least 35 people were also injured in the attack, which began at a McDonald's and ended when the shooter turned his 9mm Glock pistol on himself.
Germany has also been affected in recent years by jihadist attacks and attacks by far-right militants.
With AFP
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