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CRIME

Mourners remember slain Augsburg officer

Police in Augsburg have offered a reward of €55,000 for help leading to the arrest of two men responsible for the murder of an officer in Augsburg 10 days ago. Nearly 2,000 people gathered to remember the victim on Monday.

Published: 8 November 2011 07:32 CET
Mourners remember slain Augsburg officer
Photo: DPA

Mathias Vieth, 41, was gunned downed down October 28 as he and another police officer attempted to perform a routine traffic check on two men riding a motorcycle.

The shooting, which left the other officer with a bullet graze injury prompted a manhunt through the woods near the Bavarian city, although the suspects – thought to have been involved in a drug deal – were not found.

On Monday, however, officials and officers tried to simply remember Vieth who has been described as dedicated to his family and serving the community. He was also remembered as a mentor to younger police officers.

At the entrance to the city’s catholic cathedral, officers formed a guard of honour.

Later Bishop Konrad Zdarsa spoke of a “vicious and brutal” crime that stole Vieth from the community he was trying to protect.

Joachim Herrmann, Bavaria’s interior minister, appeared to still be shaken by the shooting as he said: “It is very difficult for us to understand this horrible crime.”

The suspects remain at large and police say they lack any serious leads, said Gerhard Schlögl, a chief constable who is involved in the investigation.

About 400 tips received from the public are being analysed by a special commission. The reward can be claimed by anyone offering information leading to the capture of the perpetrators.

DAPD/The Local/mdm

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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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