Deployment of SEK - Father set ablaze; man shoots at cops before meeting his end.
In Hamburg, during an operation by the Special Operations Command (SEK), a 51-year-old man gotinto a fatal altercation with police officers. Reportedly, the police received a call from neighbors at midnight, concerned about an oddly behaving man. They had learned that the man's 81-year-old father was in need of help, having sustained severe injuries in a multi-family house.
Prior to the police's arrival, it's claimed that the son had set his father's clothes on fire. Arriving medics saw the father with severe burns on his face from the blaze. The elder was sent to the hospital to receive extensive medical care. His condition was not life-threatening.
Soon after, when police arrived at the Rahlstedt district residence, the 51-year-old son opened fire on the officers multiple times. The on-site commander requested backup from the SEK. Soon after, the suspect supposedly resumed his attack on the intervention forces and was shot dead as a result.
The initial medics could only confirm the man's death. Authorities are currently investigating various factors related to the shootout, such as how many officers fired their weapons, the frequency of their gunfire, whether he was using armor-piercing bullets, and how many shots he himself discharged. The possibility of a mental crisis or psychological breakdown triggered the tragic incident is being considered.
The Homicide Commission and the Public Prosecutor's Office are managing the attempted murder probe. The case will also be reviewed by the Internal Investigations Department of the Interior Administration, as per standard protocol after such events.
In the early hours of the following day, the attacker's body was taken from the scene in a black bag. The police secured the taped-off crime scene with crime scene tape.
