Trial begins at the Bremen regional court after fatal shots in Neustadt

After several violent incidents involving gunfire in Bremen, the trial for the killing of a 32-year-old began in March at the regional court under high security precautions. Three men aged 64, 37 and 36 are charged with joint homicide. The crime took place on Kornstrasse in Bremer Neustadt. In the months that followed, a number of shots were fired in the district and elsewhere in Bremen. A court spokesman said the charges had no connection with the other crimes.

According to the public prosecutor's office, the 64-year-old Turkish defendant got into an argument with the later victim in a café. The background is said to have been a conflict between a family member and the 32-year-old. The 64-year-old is said to have called his 36-year-old son and said: “Come here, there is someone here with whom I am having an argument. We have to kill him. We'll destroy it."

The son then appeared with the 37-year-old. The argument continued on the street. A scuffle developed in which the victim fell to the ground. The father and son are said to have kicked the man's head and body with intent to kill. The 37-year-old Turk is said to have fired three shots at him with a pistol.

The victim died in a hospital that same evening. Witnesses to the altercation told police that around ten people were involved. When emergency services arrived at the scene, everyone was gone. Forensics recovered cartridge cases from a live firearm. A good three weeks after the crime, the police first arrested the two younger men.

Since the public prosecutor's office did not see any signs of murder, the crime was charged as manslaughter, said a court spokesman. The three defendants did not comment on the first day of the trial. Five judicial officers stood in front of the co-plaintiffs' table, and there were also five judicial officers in the courtroom. The mother, brother and wife of the man killed are co-plaintiffs in the proceedings.

At the beginning of the trial, the brother of the man killed spoke loudly to the defendants in his native language over the heads of the officers. “The family expects the case to be fully clarified,” said one of the co-plaintiffs after the hearing. They wouldn't know the background to the crime.

The hearing will continue on October 13th. The regional court has scheduled a total of 20 hearing dates until January 2027. According to a spokesman, an extensive witness program is planned. It should also be clarified what the alleged conflict between the victim and the family member of the 64-year-old defendant was about.