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Man threatens young people with gun over their music

A man riding a train between Düsseldorf and Dortmund was apparently so bothered by some youths' music and singing, that he pulled out a firearm.

Man threatens young people with gun over their music
Photo: Federal police (Bundespolizei).

A 28-year-old man from Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia was riding a Eurobahn train between Düsseldorf and Dortmund on Sunday night at about 10pm.

A group of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 were also riding the train and started playing music and singing.

But the visibly drunken 28-year-old apparently did not take a liking to their mobile karaoke show.

“Apparently because he was perturbed by the group of young men and women listening to their music and singing, the 28-year-old man staggered towards the group,” federal police wrote in a report on Monday.

Witnesses told police that the man pulled a pistol out of his waistband and loaded the gun. He then sat down again, but when the train neared a station, he jumped up and threatened the group of youths directly with his weapon drawn.

“You always meet twice in a lifetime, next time I’ll blow you all away,” he then reportedly shouted.

At some point train passengers alerted police to what was happening and when the train stopped at Dortmund central station, officers were able to board, finding the man still standing with his weapon drawn.

The man denied multiple requests by officers to drop his weapon, so police overpowered and arrested him.

They then discovered that the weapon was actually not a “real gun”, but a loaded airsoft handgun, for which it’s required to have a permit to purchase.

The man was already known to police for other violent incidents, and they are now investigating him for making threats and causing dangerous bodily harm.

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CRIME

Aide to German far-right MEP arrested on suspicion of spying for China

An aide to a German far-right politician standing in June's European Union elections has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, German prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Aide to German far-right MEP arrested on suspicion of spying for China

The man, named only as Jian G., stands accused of sharing information about negotiations at European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

On the website of the European Parliament, Jian Guo is listed as an accredited assistant to MEP Maximilian Krah, the far-right AfD party’s lead candidate in the forthcoming EU-wide elections.

He is a German national who has reportedly worked as an aide to Krah in Brussels since 2019.

The suspect “is an employee of a Chinese secret service”, prosecutors said.

“In January 2024, the accused repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence service client.

“He also spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the intelligence service.”

The suspect was arrested in the eastern German city of Dresden on Monday and his homes were searched, they added.

The accused lives in both Dresden and Brussels, according to broadcasters ARD, RBB and SWR, who broke the news about the arrest.

The AfD said the allegations were “very disturbing”.

“As we have no further information on the case, we must wait for further investigations by federal prosecutors,” party spokesman Michael Pfalzgraf said in a statement.

The case is likely to fuel concern in the West about aggressive Chinese espionage.

It comes after Germany on Monday arrested three German nationals suspected of spying for China by providing access to secret maritime technology.

READ ALSO: Germany arrests three suspected of spying for China

China’s embassy in Berlin “firmly” rejected the allegations, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.

According to German media, the two cases are not connected.

In Britain on Monday, two men were charged with handing over “articles, notes, documents or information” to China between 2021 and last year.

Police named the men as Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously worked at the UK parliament as a researcher.

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