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CRIME

Hundreds of leads in Passau police chief stabbing case

One year after the alleged stabbing of Passau police chief Alois Mannichl by a neo-Nazi, there are some 430 open leads in the case, the city’s public prosecutor announced on Monday.

Hundreds of leads in Passau police chief stabbing case
Photo: DPA

Ten investigators are still working to solve the crime, having reviewed some 3,000 clues and interviewed 2,100 people. But they have yet to discover who the perpetrator of the December 13, 2008 crime may have been.

According to investigators they have looked through “everything conceivable” to clarify the mysterious case.

Mannichl, known to be tough on far-right extremists in his city, was hospitalised until just before Christmas last year with critical injuries after he said he was stabbed on his front porch by a skinhead. He said that the man said something along the lines of, “Greetings from the national resistance,” and then, “You leftist pig cop, you won’t trample on the graves of our comrades anymore,” before stabbing Mannichl in the stomach with a 12-centimetre knife.

Media reports have speculated that police had found discrepancies in the 52-year-old’s claim, reporting that leads pointed to a domestic dispute instead. But on Monday investigators said there were no clues to suggest the perpetrator was from his personal life or planned by an organisation.

Officers are offering a €20,000 reward for leads to their suspect, described as a 25 to 30-year-old suspect about 1.9 metres tall with a muscular build. He is believed to have a snake tattoo on his neck.

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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