BERLIN (Parliament Politics Magazine): Prosecutors believe two individuals suspected of murdering two German police officers to be poachers.
The officers were shot and killed early Monday morning in the west of Germany while conducting a routine traffic check.
The automobile they came to a halt in was later discovered to be full of dead wild animals.
A 29-year-old male cop and a 24-year-old female officer who was still in training were the victims.
On Monday evening, two individuals, aged 38 and 32, were apprehended in Saarland.
After discovering their ID near the body of the female cop, police were able to identify the older suspect.
According to German authorities, the pair appeared to have shot the police officers to cover their poaching.
The two policemen had reported to colleagues that they were inspecting a suspicious car and that shots had been fired before losing contact with them.
The young lady cop had been murdered by a single shot to the head by the time more officers arrived. Soon after, the male cop, who had been shot four times, died.
The assailants fled the scene
Following the suspects’ arrest, a vast arsenal of firearms was discovered in home searches, according to German media.
Five pistols, a crossbow, a silencer, one rifle,10 long guns and ammunition, were seized.
On Tuesday, both individuals, who were already known to police, were apprehended.
The crime was described as “disturbing and uncommon” by prosecutor Udo Gehring.
“It doesn’t fit with the concept of Germany,” he continued, “that someone starts firing with a hunting weapon in the street only because he was caught poaching.”
On Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his “great sadness” over the act.
In Germany, which has some of the tightest gun ownership laws in Europe, gun crime is uncommon.
The officers issued two radio communications from the road, according to German daily Bild.
The officers said that they had stopped a suspicious vehicle and found dead animals in the boot in the first incident.
The report added that a second message arrived shortly after. The officers reportedly exclaimed, “They’re shooting at us!” before losing radio contact.
The police union’s state head, Sabrina Kunz, expressed her condolences to the victims’ families and coworkers.
“We are living through every police officer’s worst nightmare,” she added, adding that she was “stunned” by the events.
Image via buruf.com
