- Following a knife assault, Reul conducts pocket searches at social gatherings
After a knife assault at the city celebration in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) intends to look into additional safety measures at such events. "I'm examining if it's legally permissible, under the current legal framework, to also conduct bag searches at major events," Reul stated in Siegen. He's not suggesting bag checks at every square, summer, or school celebration, but there can be "more between general and targeted."
Reul advised against equating the events. "What transpired here in Siegen has no relation to what took place in Solingen. They were both knife attacks, but it's a vast difference if a dangerous individual or a German woman with psychological troubles unexpectedly stabs people," Reul explained. As a result, law enforcement will need to alter their strategy.
On Friday evening, a 32-year-old German woman all of a sudden attacked people with a knife on a shuttle bus bound for the city celebration. At least six were hurt - three severely. The 32-year-old is known to the authorities. According to dpa reports, there are hints of a mental illness. Reul provided updates on the injured: "One of the three severely wounded is now out of danger. One is still battling, and the other, we're yet to learn."
The city celebration carried on the next day with a church service, which Reul also attended.
The occurrence recalls the incident in Solingen a week prior. There, a man killed three with a knife and injured eight more at a city celebration. The alleged perpetrator, a 26-year-old Syrian, is in custody. The Federal Prosecutor's Office is investigating him, among other things, for murder and suspected membership in the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization.
Knife ban at the Siegen festival
"We inhabit a world ridden with such threats at every turn, and as the police, it's our responsibility to discover the most nuanced and intelligent responses possible," Reul said. This isn't an easy task. "There are no straightforward answers, and yet we all need to awaken to this reality."
For the city celebration, the city enhanced the security plan and enacted a knife ban. "Visitors to the city celebration may not carry knives," it states on the city's website. Additionally, following the Solingen incident, the number of security personnel was boosted and the number of surveillance cameras was augmented, said organizer Astrid Schneider in a WDR interview on Friday morning.
Reul considered implementing pocket checks at major events to enhance security measures, but he emphasized that this wouldn't be a regular occurrence at every celebration. After the knife assault, the city enacted a knife ban for the event, stating clearly on their website that visitors are not allowed to carry knives.
