Bavaria's Interior Minister announces details about shooters in Berngau

Two government employees were shot dead on Thursday during a routine check in Berngau in the Neumarkt district. A 60-year-old barricaded himself for hours before he was caught. What is known so far about the alleged perpetrator.

No sign of extremist motive

The suspected shooter is a 60-year-old German who legally owned ten weapons, including long guns and handguns. He was a hunter and sports shooter, said Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU). According to current information, the man had not come to police attention in the past. There are neither entries in police files nor findings from state security or the protection of the constitution. There are currently “no signs of extremist attitudes in any direction,” said the minister.

Investigations in all directions

The background to the crime is therefore still completely unclear. Investigations are now being carried out in all directions, and the previous history at the district office is also being checked. An interrogation of the perpetrator should clarify why the situation escalated.

Mayor: Suspected shooter not active in clubs

The mayor of the community with around 2,600 residents, Thomas Meier, says he definitely knows the suspected shooter by sight, but not personally. "Otherwise, as far as I know, he wasn't integrated into the village, not into clubs, not into groups; I think he was on his own." According to his findings, he is also not active in a local shooting club.

Herrmann was “deeply shocked”. “Of course, our thoughts are, above all, with the families of the victims,” said Herrmann. He also expressed his condolences to his colleagues in the Neumarkt district office, for whom psychological support was initiated.

The 45-year-old employee and his 54-year-old colleague from the Neumarkt district office were killed during the weapons check. As Herrmann explained, the two wanted to carry out a routine and unannounced check on a hunter and sport shooter. He apparently opened fire and fatally shot the two employees.

After the crime, the police were alerted by neighbors and secured the area. The emergency services tried for hours to persuade the perpetrator to give up, but were unsuccessful. Finally, special forces intervened and stopped the man with a targeted shot in the leg and arrested him. He is receiving medical treatment for serious injuries.