Nine people were killed in two shooting incidents with four injured at shisha bars in the city of Hanau late Wednesday, local police reported. The shootings happened at around 10 pm local time at two shisha bars in different parts of the city according to local media sources.
Daily Bild has claims that it has the identity of the shooter and his confession that underlines far-right motives for the attack. The newspaper also reported that the suspect who is reported dead now left a video claiming the attack.
The Perpetrator reportedly opened the fire at a shisha bar in downtown Hanau and killed 3 people in the first incident before turning to the Kesselstadt neighborhood to open fire at second shisha bar to gun down five more.
Authorities have cordoned off the crime scene while special forces have been deployed for the hunt of a potential suspect at large. Meanwhile police have reported that they found the suspect and another person dead in his home early Thursday, bringing the count to eleven. Police said there were no traces of another suspect aside from the two they two they recovered dead in the search operation. They were able to get to the suspect’s home in light of the statements recorded by the witnesses at the scene.
“The suspected perpetrator was found lifeless at his residential address in Hanau. Police special forces also found another corpse at the site,” police in the area said on Twitter. “The investigations continue. Currently, there are no indications of further perpetrators.”
Its not immediately clear as what was the motive behind the shooting and there was no clue of another shooter. The law enforcement has so far not released any details about the deceased suspect and an investigation is under process.
Speaking to Rebecca Staudenmaier in Hanau for DW, Ali Mengücek, 49 narrated his version of the events before the shootings. Mengücek, who is living in the area for the last 40 years, recounted he was on his way to home with his two children when he saw four men – “all quite tall and fairly young,” perhaps 40 or under. The local resident recorded that they were standing in two formations about 30m apart. In a near miss he walked in between them with the two daughters, telling the minors to pick up the pace after smelling the foul.
“I live about 50m past where they were standing. When I got home and shut the door, then I heard the six shots. I believe this was six or seven minutes after I had walked past with my two little children. I then opened the window, people were running back and forth and screaming. Within about five minutes, police were on the scene,” he recorded the ordeal.
About two hours later, Mengücek spotted ammunition on the road and informed the police. The shisha bar serves as a meeting point for the local Kurdish residents, reported DW’s Satudenmaier. Many of the shooting victims have their homes on the same street where the bar is.
Condolences offered by Politicians
Senior CDU politician Katja Leikert representing Hanau consistency in the national Bundestag parliament, condoled the families of the victims and thanked the first responders.
“On this terrible night in Hanau I send those close to the victims all my strength and heartfelt condolences. Hopefully the injured recover swiftly. It is horrific scenario for us all. Thanks to emertnecy services,” Leikert said.
The mayor of Hanau, Claus Kaminsky on Bild Live expressed it was “barely possible to imagine a worse evening.”
“This was a terrible evening that I’m sure we will be dealing with and remembering with sadness for a long, long time,” the Social Democrat added.
Spokesman for German government, Steffen Seibert, also in his tweet offered condolences. “My thoughts are with the people in #Hanau this morning, where an appalling crime was committed… We hope that the injured will recover quickly.”
The western German city of Hanau lies some 15 miles east of Frankfurt and sis a home to 100,000 people.