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CRIME

Manhunt on for police officer’s killer

UPDATE: An off-duty police officer was shot dead in a street in western Germany on Wednesday night, prompting a large-scale manhunt for the culprit.

Manhunt on for police officer's killer
Police searching the area on Thursday morning have released an e-fit of the suspect. Photo: DPA/Polizei Hessen

The 50-year-old officer was shot on a rural country road in the Groß-Gerau region, south-west of Frankfurt am Main, on Wednesday evening.

He died of his injuries on Ulmenstraße in Bischofsheim, police in Darmstadt said in a statement released in the early hours of Thursday.

A large scale manhunt is now underway for the killer, who was able to flee the crime scene. 

The suspect was last seen heading towards the town centre after the shooting at around 7.30pm.

Police said on Thursday morning they had no further leads as to the fugitive's whereabouts, but were searching for a man aged between 50 and 60.

An e-fit of the man has been released based on eyewitness accounts. He was wearing a grey baseball hat and a light coloured top.

His hair was described as "greying" and he had a "three-day-old" beard.

The dead policeman, who had worked the southern Hesse region, had lived not far from the scene of the crime and had been off duty on Wednesday, a Darmstadt public prosecutor spokeswoman told the Frankfurter Rundschau. 

There was no indication yet of a clear motive for the crime and investigators were looking into the victim's private and professional background for possible leads, she said.

Since releasing the e-fit, the police had received several tip-offs from the public, but had not yet got onto the man's trail. Police said he could still be armed. 

"We're appalled by the murder of our colleague in southern Hesse and are stunned by this cruel, cowardly and senseless act," said Heini Schmidt, head of the regional chapter of the DPolG police union.

"We hope that the brutal murderer will be caught very soon and given his just punishment, even though this can be of no comfort and will not bring our colleague back." 

SEE ALSO: Husband and wife killed in Lübeck shooting

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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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