Press
There is great dismay over the fatal attack on a 20-year-old in Bad Oeynhausen. The motive for the act of violence remains unclear. Politicians are demanding consequences.
Bad Oeynhausen – After the fatal attack on a 20-year-old in the spa gardens of Bad Oeynhausen, the police are still looking for witnesses to the violent crime. The investigations are “in full swing,” said a spokeswoman for the Bielefeld police when asked. The police are again calling on witnesses to provide photos and videos that may contain clues to the crime. They can report to any police station or to the Bielefeld police, said the spokeswoman.
An 18-year-old suspect is in custody. He has not yet commented on the charges of manslaughter and grievous bodily harm, police and prosecutors announced on Thursday.
According to the investigations so far, the violence against the victim was committed exclusively by the 18-year-old, who is a Syrian citizen and lives in Bad Oeynhausen. He has already attracted attention in the past for violent, property and drug-related crimes.
Suspect was already known to police
The suspect came to Germany in 2016 as part of a family reunification, initially lived in Pforzheim and moved to Bad Oeynhausen last year, reported the “Bild” newspaper, citing the responsible public prosecutor Christoph Mackel. He is known to the authorities, but has no previous convictions. “There were investigations against him, but they never led to a conviction,” Mackel told “Bild.”
According to the police, the suspect’s group also includes at least three other Germans aged 18. The number of people involved in the crime and what other crimes were committed are part of the ongoing investigation, the investigating authorities said. It has also not been conclusively clarified what the background and trigger of the dispute was.
The autopsy of the 20-year-old confirmed previous assumptions that the Minden resident was so seriously injured by several blunt blows and kicks to the head that he later died in hospital.
The attack on the 20-year-old and a 19-year-old companion took place on Sunday night. There was a school graduation party and a party in the city center that evening. According to a city spokesperson, it was therefore very busy at the time of the attack.
Act of violence fuels political debate
The violent crime in Bad Oeynhausen in East Westphalia further fuelled the political debate about the deportation of serious criminals to countries such as Afghanistan or Syria. North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) said: “This offender must be given a just punishment.” Germany must “become better at deporting such serious offenders, violent criminals who are not German citizens.”
The deputy SPD parliamentary group leader Dirk Wiese told the daily newspaper “Welt”: “The perpetrator must be held accountable with the full force of the law.” dpa
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