Once again, a police operation in North Rhine-Westphalia ends fatally for a suspected knife attacker. The Dortmund Criminal Investigation Department is investigating the incident in Recklinghausen for reasons of neutrality.
Recklinghausen – After another fatal use of firearms by the police in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Dortmund Criminal Investigation Department is investigating the incident in Recklinghausen for reasons of neutrality. According to initial findings, a 33-year-old man had caused a disturbance in an apartment building on Wednesday evening, as the police in Dortmund and the Bochum public prosecutor’s office announced. According to witnesses, he also had a knife with him.
When the alerted officers arrived, a threatening situation for the emergency services developed, according to the information: “As a result, firearms were used against the 33-year-old.” He suffered fatal injuries. How many officers were deployed, how many shots were fired and from how many weapons is still being investigated.
Just one day before the incident in Recklinghausen, a man armed with knives was shot dead by police in Moers on the Lower Rhine. The 26-year-old German – according to investigators, suffering from severe mental health problems – is said to have run at police officers with two knives in his hands, who then fired shots. Several emergency calls had been received beforehand because the man was said to have attacked and threatened several passers-by.
Other incidents on the same day
On Wednesday morning, the police in Recklinghausen were called out to a crime in which a knife was allegedly used. A 49-year-old man is said to have injured a 53-year-old man in the hallway of an apartment building. The knife allegedly used in the crime was confiscated shortly afterwards. The victim was taken to hospital by ambulance, and the other man was arrested.
In Dorsten in the district of Recklinghausen, a man suffered stab wounds in an argument with an opponent. A knife was probably used in this altercation on Wednesday evening, said a police spokeswoman. The suspect fled and the injured man was found on a street in the Altstadt district. The search for the suspected stabber remained unsuccessful until the morning.
Knife violence has increased dramatically
In North Rhine-Westphalia, knife violence in public spaces has increased dramatically in the past year – it rose by almost 43 percent to 3,540 registered cases. Nine of these are classified as attacks. The allegedly Islamist-motivated attack in Solingen on Friday last week in particular sparked great horror and top-level political discussions about possible consequences. A 26-year-old Syrian is in custody because he is said to have killed three people with a knife and injured eight others.
After the attack in Solingen, the federal government wants to examine further tightening of gun laws. If Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) has her way, knives with a blade length of up to six centimeters should only be allowed in public, instead of the current twelve centimeters. There should be a general ban on dangerous switchblades. dpa
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