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CRIME

Dortmund zoo suffers second mystery death

Dortmund zoo has suffered the second mysterious death of an animal within just a few weeks, as a penguin was found dead soon after the suspected killing of a sea lion.

Published: 1 December 2015 15:57 CET
Dortmund zoo suffers second mystery death
Humboldt penguins in their enclosure at Dortmund zoo. Photo: DPA

The Humboldt penguin found dead on Monday was just one of three that have gone missing from the enclosure, police reported on Tuesday.

Officers said that the dead bird was found in the flamingo enclosure, while there was no sign of the other two animals.

Police are investigating on suspicion of theft and breach of animal protection laws – although they do not rule out that the penguins might have escaped by themselves.

Penguins are known to make escape attempts, as staff at Odense zoo in Denmark found out two weeks ago.

In a statement, Dortmund city administrators said the body of the penguin would be forensically examined to determine the cause of death.

News of the penguin disappearances has caused shock just weeks after the death of Holly, a 21-year-old sea lion found dead in her enclosure on November 9th.

While zoo keepers believe that Holly was beaten to death, with an autopsy showing serious head injuries, the police investigation turned up no evidence of foul play.

Workers at the zoo insist that there is no chance Holly's death could have been an accident.

SEE ALSO: Zoo calls police after brutal sea lion 'murder'

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CRIME

Teenager turns self in after attack on German politician

A 17-year-old has turned himself in to police in Germany after an attack on a lawmaker that the country's leaders decried as a threat to democracy.

Published: 5 May 2024 12:52 CEST
Teenager turns self in after attack on German politician

The teenager reported to police in the eastern city of Dresden early Sunday morning and said he was “the perpetrator who had knocked down the SPD politician”, police said in a statement.

Matthias Ecke, 41, European parliament lawmaker for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), was set upon by four attackers as he put up EU election posters in Dresden on Friday night, according to police.

Ecke was “seriously injured” and required an operation after the attack, his party said.

Scholz on Saturday condemned the attack as a threat to democracy.

“We must never accept such acts of violence,” he said.

Ecke, who is head of the SPD’s European election list in the Saxony region, was just the latest political target to be attacked in Germany.

Police said a 28-year-old man putting up posters for the Greens had been “punched” and “kicked” earlier in the evening on the same Dresden street.

Last week two Greens deputies were abused while campaigning in Essen in western Germany and another was surrounded by dozens of demonstrators in her car in the east of the country.

According to provisional police figures, 2,790 crimes were committed against politicians in Germany in 2023, up from 1,806 the previous year, but less than the 2,840 recorded in 2021, when legislative elections took place.

A group of activists against the far right has called for demonstrations against the attack on Ecke in Dresden and Berlin on Sunday, Der Spiegel magazine said.

According to the Tagesspiegel newspaper, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is planning to call a special conference with Germany’s regional interior ministers next week to address violence against politicians.

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