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CRIME

German police accidentally storm 88-year-old woman’s home in hunt for gang

A heavily armed police task force in Lüdenscheid got the wrong address during a planned raid against a criminal gang member, and stormed a pensioner's home instead.

German police accidentally storm 88-year-old woman's home in hunt for gang
Helga Mackenbach (r) sits in her apartment with her neighbour Albert Günther. Photo: DPA

The task force (SEK) wanted to take action against a criminal biker gang member in Lüdenscheid, a city in the Märkischer county district in western Germany, at around 6am last Thursday.

But they arrived at the wrong house number and forced their way into the home of Helga Mackenbach, 88, who was sleeping at the time, reported local newspaper, the Lüdenscheider Nachrichten on Tuesday.

Gerhard Pauli, spokesman for the public prosecutor's office, described the incident as an “unfortunate mistake”. Pauli said investigators were now trying to establish how it happened.

'Admirably tough'

It sounds like a scene from a crime thriller: specially trained officers from the Sondereinsatzkommando (SEK) squad rammed down the door of the apartment, while a flash grenade, used to temporarily stun people, went off on the balcony at the back of the building.

The newspaper reported that Mackenbach was woken up suddenly by this noise – and was faced with several heavily armed officers in her home. In an interview she said there was a “terrible noise in the hallway”.

When the SEK squad arrived in her bedroom, there was disbelief amongst everyone, Mackenbach said.

She added that the officers “were shocked that I was an old woman”.

After the initial shock, the pensioner showed herself to be an exceptionally good host. “I first asked everyone if they wanted coffee,” she said. “I put Christmas crockery on the table, then we drank coffee.”

According to the chief prosecutor, Mackenbach was “admirably tough” and “relatively calm” during the incident. 

Mackenbach said she didn't blame the SEK squad for their unannounced visit.

“It shouldn't happen, but it can,” she reportedly said.

Police eventually found the target

Immediately after the failed operation, police had called on a pastor to assist the pensioner.

The SEK officers then moved two houses away and arrested the target for whom they had come to the area to find.

The suspect, a member of the Hagen chapter of the Freeway Riders, was released after interrogation.

Reason for confusion still unclear

The amount of damage to the three doors of the 88-year-old that were hit in the raid has not yet been determined, but, according to Pauli, the woman “will be fully compensated by us”.

Meanwhile, it has not been established how it was possible for the SEK team to arrive at the wrong house number. 

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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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