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CRIME

Trial of ‘serial Autobahn shooter’ begins

A truck driver accused of a five-year indiscriminate shooting spree on German motorways to teach on the road users a "lesson" went on trial on Monday.

Trial of 'serial Autobahn shooter' begins
DPA

Prosecutors say the man, identified as Michael Harry K., was a "frustrated loner" and claim he fired more than 700 times at trucks and cars, leaving several people injured, until his arrest in June 2013.

The 58-year-old faces five counts of attempted murder, as well as grievous bodily harm and other charges, and could face a lengthy prison term if found guilty by the district court in the Bavarian city of Würzburg.

The charges relate to 171 different incidents.

The accused, who lives in western Germany, had wanted to teach other truck drivers a "lesson" over their road behaviour, local DPA news agency quoted senior prosecutor Boris Raufeisen as saying at the trial's opening.

He claimed that the defendant was aware his missed shots could cause "serious accidents with considerable consequences to the point of death of other road users".

The defence has rejected the attempted murder charge and, through his lawyer, the accused vigorously contested in court that he had considered that people could be hit.

"I reject the accusation of having accepted that people might die," he said in a statement read out by his lawyer.

But he admitted that from around late 2009 he fired a "number I can't recall of shots" at lorries' loads on German motorways.

During the investigation he had said that he didn't want to hurt anyone and only aimed at a truck's load or freight hold.

He also said he had acted after once nearly being pushed off the road by a car transporter. 

Presiding judge Burkhard Poepperl said the accused had referred in previous questioning to a "war on German motorways" and the defendant confirmed that that was his view.

In 2009, the year after the alleged shootings began, a businesswoman in a car was critically injured after being struck in the neck and crashing into the motorway barrier at high speed.

The defendant also apologised in the statement to court to the injured woman and to those whose vehicles had been damaged.

The investigation into the motorway shootings, which began at the latest in 2008, was complicated because the drivers of the vehicles hit often didn't notice until arriving at their destination.

Police eventually made an arrest after setting up a technical surveillance system on stretches of motorway to register licence plates.

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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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