Processes - Hostage-taking: Public prosecutor's office considers man not guilty
Five months after a hostage taking incident in Ulm city center, an indictment has been filed against the alleged perpetrator. The 44-year-old is accused of taking several people hostage at a local on Münsterplatz in the evening of January 26th. He let most of them go in the meantime, but kept one of them behind in the local. When he finally came out with her, police forces shot at him and ended the hostage situation. According to the prosecutor's office, the man threatened his victims with apparently realistic looking air soft guns.
The man from North Rhine-Westphalia has been in pre-trial detention since then. "He is currently making use of his right to remain silent", it was further stated. The prosecutor's office refers to a report and does not exclude the possibility that the soldier committed the crime in a significantly reduced state of culpability. Therefore, his long-term accommodation in a psychiatric hospital is being pursued.
According to the prosecutor's office, the 44-year-old wanted to force the police to fire a so-called final rescue shot with this hostage taking. He took a dozen guests and employees of the café hostage and threatened them, and also ordered them to call the police. When he finally left the local, the police officers "as expected" shot at him.
The hostage-taking incident in Ulm's Minster Square was handled by the local police force. The public prosecutor's office in North Rhine-Westphalia, where the suspect originates, is overseeing the subsequent processes. Despite the hostage situation in Ulm, similar incidents have not been reported in the city center of Baden-Württemberg. The 44-year-old is facing trial for his actions in the heart of Ulm's bustling city center.
