A gunman opened fire at 2 Shisha Bars in the Hanau town of Germany, killing at least 9 people
Atleast 9 people have died and several have been injured after a gunman opened fire at 2 Shisha Bars (also known as hookah lounge) in the Hanau town of Germany.
The shootings took place on late Wednesday night, i.e., February 19, 2020. The suspect was later found dead at his home today, i.e., Thursday, February 20, 2020. The body of suspect’s mother was also found at his home.
The 2 places targeted by the suspect comprised of Kurdish people. The German Federal Prosecutors believe that the suspect was a far-right extremist.
According to a popular German tabloid newspaper ‘Bild’, the gunman had the license for the firearms. There were ammunition and gun magazines in his car. Separately, the suspect expressed right-wing views in his letter of confession before his death.
A statement from the police read, “There are no indications that other suspects were involved.”
The statement further read, “One of the two dead people found is highly likely the perpetrator. The investigations into the identity of the victims and the perpetrator are ongoing.”
The shooting began at 22:00 hours local time at Midnight Shisha Bar where 3 people were killed. After the gruesome attack, the suspect fled in a dark coloured car to the Arena Bar & Café and killed 5 people.
For the records, Hanau is the capital city of the State of Hesse, about 25 kms East of Frankfurt. As per the Interior Minister of Hesse – Peter Beuth, the case is being treated as a terrorist attack, with the first indications pointing to an anti-foreigner motive.
Can-Luca Frisenna, who works at a kiosk near one of the Shisha Bars, said his father and brother had been in the area when the attack took place.
Talking to media, he said, “It’s like being in a film, it’s like a bad joke, that someone is playing a joke on us. I can’t grasp yet everything that has happened. My colleagues, all my colleagues, they are like my family – they can’t understand it either.”
Speaking on the occasion, the Mayor of Hanau – Claus Kaminsky said, “You could not imagine a worse night. It will of course keep us busy for a long, long time and remain a sad memory. I’m deeply moved.”
The attack comes 4 days after a shooting took place in Berlin, near a Turkish comedy show at the Tempodrom concert venue. Germany has witnessed several such attacks in the recent years, including a terror attack by ISIL in December 2016, which killed 12 people. The police has recently arrested 12 members of a German far-right group who were believed to have been plotting large-scale attacks on mosques, similar to the ones carried out in New Zealand in 2019.
In October 2019, there was a deadly anti-Jewish gun attack in the Eastern city of Halle on the holy day of Yom Kippur, a day of atonement and repentance in Judaism. Two people were shot dead in this incident and this was streamed live. Prior to this, in June 2019, a member of German Conservative Party – Walter Luebcke was shot dead at his home.
