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Investigators: police shots in Gummersbach were self-defense

In the police shooting in Gummersbach in November, the public prosecutor's office believes that the officers were justified in shooting the suspected knife attacker in self-defense. "The knife attack posed a real risk of death for the officers and the use of firearms was therefore justified as...

The penal code and files lie on a table. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de
The penal code and files lie on a table. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Public prosecutor's office - Investigators: police shots in Gummersbach were self-defense

In the police shooting in Gummersbach in November, the public prosecutor's office believes that the officers were justified in shooting the suspected knife attacker in self-defense. "The knife attack posed a real risk of death for the officers and the use of firearms was therefore justified as a last resort," said Cologne senior public prosecutor Ulrich Bremer on Monday. There was no initial suspicion of negligent bodily harm in office. The "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" had previously reported on this.

The police were originally called to a supermarket in mid-November because of a shoplifting incident. The 30-year-old is said to have stolen beer and beaten an employee. According to the public prosecutor's office, several confrontations with the police followed: even the repeated use of pepper spray and a first shot could not have stopped the man, who was armed with a cutter knife, from attacking. After the incident shifted, the 30-year-old is said to have attacked again. The officers tried to defend themselves with chairs and one police officer fired another shot.

In the pedestrian zone, the man is said to have finally run towards the police officers with a cutter knife drawn, "who had no other choice in the specific situation but to injure and stop the attacker at gunpoint", according to Bremer. The fact that the shots were fired in a pedestrian zone did not lead to a different assessment. The legal requirements for self-defense were met. The 30-year-old, who was already known to the police for a number of criminal offenses, is said to have suffered six hits. He survived.

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Source: www.stern.de

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