Shot through apartment door: trial for attempted murder
Almost six months after being shot through the door of his neighbor's apartment, a 49-year-old man will have to answer to a jury at Hamburg District Court from Tuesday (1 p.m.). The public prosecutor's office is accusing the German of attempted murder. Out of "right-wing extremist and xenophobic sentiments", he is said to have shot at his neighbor's closed apartment door with a bolt-action rifle on May 27 of this year in order to kill her.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the projectile fired smashed through the door and a chest of drawers and got stuck in the wall. As the police reported at the time, the 24-year-old neighbor had been in the first floor apartment with a relative. They were not injured.
In addition to the bolt-action rifle, the accused is also said to have kept a shotgun and twenty cartridges in his apartment in the Niendorf district without a firearms license. The court has scheduled eight further hearings - the verdict could be announced on January 26.
The incident has raised concerns about the escalation of extremist attitudes, as the man's alleged motives were rooted in right-wing extremist and xenophobic sentiments. The prosecution is also investigating other potential crime scenes, as unlicensed firearms and ammunition were found in his apartment.
Source: www.dpa.com
