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CRIME

Court: Jeweller shot teen in ‘self-defence’

A 67-year-old German jeweller was spared prison on Wednesday despite killing a teenager who held up her shop. A regional court ruled that shooting the intruder in the back of the head was self-defence.

Court: Jeweller shot teen in 'self-defence'
Photo: DPA

The woman, who has not been named, heard in court on Wednesday that she was not guilty of manslaughter and would not be going to prison. Instead she would receive an eight month suspended sentence for denial of medical assistance to the fatally wounded 18-year-old and for breaching the country’s weapons law.

The man entered the shop in Wetterau, Hesse, in July 2011 wearing a mask. He held an unloaded air gun and demanded money.

The woman went into a back room, where she had a hidden revolver, and shot him from a distance. The bullet hit the teen in the back of the head.

Prosecutors said they saw no case for self-defence, arguing that if it had been, she would have fired a warning shot or shot him in the leg.

But the judge at the Gießen regional court in Hesse said she could not have known that his gun was not loaded and that the woman was clearly affected by the incident.

“I was holding the weapon in my hand and suddenly it fired,” she told the judge, an incident that her defence called “purely accidental.” The court gave her a suspended sentence for failing to alert the emergency services quickly enough, and instead ringing her husband.

Initially the woman told the police that the robber’s accomplice had shot him, which was found to be a lie.

DPA/The Local/jcw

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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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