Incident at the Constitutional Court
Man shoots police with air rifle
November 5th, 2023, 5:25 p.m
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In Karlsruhe, a man with an air rifle causes the alarm. First he runs through the castle park with the weapon, then he aims it at the security guards near the Federal Constitutional Court. During the arrest and later in police custody, he injured two officers – one of them seriously.
A man fired a rifle at a police patrol on the grounds of the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. According to the public prosecutor’s office and the federal police, he ran towards the officers on Saturday evening and fired an air rifle. Nobody was injured. During his arrest, the 41-year-old suspect fought back and slightly injured a police officer. While being transported to the office, the man seriously injured another investigator, it was said.
The investigators are now checking whether there was a projectile in the rifle when the shot was fired at the police officers. The weapon was seized for further investigation. Shortly before the crime, the shooter had walked around with the weapon in the area of the palace gardens in Karlsruhe and jumped out of a bush, the investigators said. Witnesses then alerted the police.
Arrest warrant applied for
A federal police spokeswoman said the man was very lucky that he was not shot by her colleagues. An officer pulled out his weapon and pointed it at the suspect.
It is still unclear why the man fired the gun in the first place. Investigators did not want to comment on a possible motive. Nor does it address the question of whether the 41-year-old is known to the police, for example through similar acts. A judge is expected to decide later today whether the man needs to be remanded in custody. The police do not want to announce the decision until the beginning of the week.
The Federal Police is responsible for protecting the Federal Constitutional Court. According to the spokeswoman, the officers in whose direction the shots were fired were part of the security staff.