The suspected perpetrator of the attack in Trier, which killed several people, is being brought to trial later today. The judge will decide whether the 51-year-old man will be remanded or placed in a closed mental institution.
According to a police spokesman, the man made a statement. No statements have been made about the content of the statement.
The German Bernd Walter W. is said to have caused a massacre in Trier yesterday by zigzagging through a pedestrian zone in an all-terrain vehicle. Five people died, including a 9-week-old girl and her 45-year-old father. His wife and their one-and-a-half-year-old son are injured in hospital.
Three women aged 25, 52 and 73 were also killed. Fourteen others were injured, at least eight of them seriously. People who witnessed the attack can receive victim assistance.
This morning, residents of Trier gathered to commemorate the victims:
In the days before the attack, the suspect slept in the car he allegedly used for his deed. He had borrowed that car from an acquaintance, who according to the police has nothing to do with the crime. According to the chief prosecutor, “there is no evidence of terrorist, political or religious motive” and the man acted alone. There would be evidence that he is mentally ill. The man was drunk when he was stopped by the police.
Relatives told the German press that they had not had contact with W. for years. He lived in the house with his mother until she died, then it would have gone downhill for him. He lost his house and had a drinking problem. The suspect had no criminal record and had never been in contact with the police before.
The investigation in the city has been provisionally completed and the pedestrian zone has been released again. The city council is considering placing concrete blocks as a barrier around pedestrian zones.
The Trier corona testing center remains closed today, as many emergency responders and medical personnel were deployed during the incident yesterday and have yet to process those events.
Wake at Porta Nigra
Last night, about a hundred people gathered in Trier Cathedral to pray for the victims. The churches also rang their bells and the flags on government buildings in Rhineland-Palatinate are at half mast.
A vigil started at 10 a.m. in front of the Porta Nigra, the famous city gate from Roman times. Hundreds of residents of the city lay flowers and burn candles. Mayor Wolfram Leibe of Trier wants a memorial place opposite the Porta Nigra, where people can mourn and remember. He also announced that tomorrow at 1:46 PM, the time the attack began, all the church bells in the city will ring.
At the request of the city residents, an account number has also been opened on which money is collected to help those affected.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising and former Bishop of Trier, said he felt close to the people of the city: “I pray for the dead and for the wounded, for their families and friends and for all the people of Trier. and environment confronted with this horrible act.
Chancellor Merkel left via Twitter know how to empathize with the victims: “The news from Trier makes me very sad. I also think about those who have suffered serious injuries and wish them the best of luck.”
Footballer Robin Koch, who plays for Leeds United, but previously played for Eintracht Trier, also responded on Twitter: