Society's Child
One woman was killed and three people injured in a shooting at Heidelberg University on Monday.
Police said at a press conference Monday evening that a man entered a university lecture hall with a double-barreled shotgun and another firearm as a class was running and opened fire.
Four people were wounded. A 23-year-old woman died several hours later in the hospital; the other victims suffered injures in the face, back and legs, police said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was shocked by the shooting.
"That one student has died of her injuries ... It tears my heart apart to learn of such news,'' Scholz said.
What happened during the shooting?
Police in the southwestern German city said they received several emergency calls shortly after 12:20 p.m. They were able to respond quickly and were on scene within minutes. Over 400 police officers were involved in the subsequent operation.
It was quickly determined that the shooter had acted alone and that there was no larger danger to the public.
The suspect was identified an 18-year-old biology student, who turned the weapon on himself after the shooting. Police said the suspect had no signs of life by the time they could approach his body.
Police said they found a backpack belonging to the shooter containing a large amount of ammunition. At first, police stayed clear of the stricken suspect and his bag, suspecting it might contain explosives.
Police investigate near the scene of Monday's shooting in Heidelberg
Shooter unknown to police
No motive was released by police, and an investigation is ongoing into the suspect's background and how he acquired the weapons.
DW reporter Stephanie Burnett has been following developments in Heidelberg and said the suspect had no prior record and police were trying to determine how he managed to obtain the weapons.
"He had no criminal record, and it is understood he did not have a license to purchase these weapons as they are understood to have been purchased from abroad. So investigations are ongoing as to how he came to acquire these weapons, as well as what the motive is behind this," Burnett said.
Police said the weapons were not licensed although a proof of purchase was discovered during initial investigations.
The man is understood to have lived alone in nearby Mannheim, and was not known to police.
The man had sent a WhatsApp message to his father shortly before the incident, saying words to the effect of "now people must be punished," at least as relayed by Mannheim police chief Siegfried Kollmar. In the same message, Kollmar said, the suspect expressed a desire to be buried at sea.
How have people reacted?
"My thoughts are with the victims, their relatives and of course the students of Heidelberg University," Chancellor Scholz said.
Heidelberg Mayor Eckart Würzner said it was "hard to believe" that a shooting like this could happen in the city, which is located south of Frankfurt and has a population of around 130,000.
Heidelberg University is the oldest in Germany, and has over 30,000 students.
The deputy interior minister of Baden Würtemberg, Thomas Strobl, said that the worldwide scientific community was watching what happened Monday with "shock and empathy."
Reader Comments
It is time to decide what we want to do when we grow up. Clearly the future of weak and fearful Europe will not be political (on the international stage we have an influence close to zero) or industrial (we are not competitive on a world scale). Others will deal with these sectors with more possibilities and better results. On the other hand, the states of the Union are rich in skills since in many regions the craftsmen who are able to bring something unique out of their hands still survive. Masons and architects capable of "working" on the homes of the living and the dead in order to create a flow of harmony, farmers and cooks able to extract from the earth and cook delicacies that are dreamed of elsewhere, tailors with a unique style, ingenious and proactive technicians .Incredible to say, but technology has not annihilated these professionals, and we would be stupid if we did not concentrate now on the unexplored possibilities of the "living work" deriving from the Technique. It is always better to get lost in fantasies about the potential (all to be seen, and in any case not infinite) of Technology.In real work there is the source of every added value, of every personal growth as well as of every profit. All. The idea of building the next sustenance model on that Arch which, despite appearances, is always alive among us and still speaks to us through symbols and landscapes, aromas and flavors, breaths and poetic impulses gushing from authentic European nature.Evergreen ideas such as "community" and "common good" are already returning to exert a certain fascination on the collective imagination. In every corner of Europe, unions of young people (few but good) are spending themselves to build urban gardens, craft workshops, time banks, solidarity buying groups, bartering centers, popular kitchens, shared cultural experiences.One day these could be the "European weapons" to fight the final assault of the infernal forces of ordoliberalism, sowing the seeds of a society capable of overcoming the market and the state. In any case, it would be a waste of time to think of being able to count on the support of the Eurocrats of Brussels, who, coming from an "American education", do not even understand the potential and the added value of such proposals.It will be up to European citizens gathered in small communities to get busy, perhaps giving up something. Never mind, it is not written anywhere that a life to be called such must be filled with useless stuff bought on "Black Friday" on the most famous shopping platform in the world, which of course invoices in a tax haven, with the approval of the institutions.As the prince of Persian legend, Europe wakes up and remembers her true identity. If not now, when? The process of desacralization and reification of the world is in decline and sooner or later it will give way, because everything ends. Better to move forward by starting to admit that the cultural model called "technological-industrial civilization" has failed in the enterprise of spreading peace and well-being in the world.The dream is over, as some European peoples have already understood that before falling asleep they were doing quite well and are now on board the Titanic: a huge ship is sinking but the fear (of death) suggests ignoring the gravity of the leak. in the hull so that passengers can continue dancing in the party hall, with smiling waiters trying to make the last trip as comfortable as possible.....
I think you know what I'm getting at ...
Who would think of " punish the people ", and for what - if not one who's worldview is totally different ?
No motive was released by police, and an investigation is ongoing into the suspect's background and how he acquired the weapons.In other words they are waiting to be told what to say.
Comment: This incident is eerily similar to another that occurred just 10 days ago in Tokyo, Japan: 3 stabbed near University of Tokyo ahead of entrance exam, student, 17, arrested
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