More than twelve hours after the bloody crime, investigators were still out and about in the gravel parking lot in the middle of Asperg. Officers from the criminal police and the State Criminal Police Office, some dressed in white protective suits, picked up objects from the ground and packed them in small plastic bags. A pool of blood in the parking lot bears witness to the act of violence that happened on the night of Holy Saturday in the town near Ludwigsburg in the Stuttgart region. Many questions remained unanswered on the morning of Easter Sunday. A police spokesman would neither confirm nor deny media reports that there had been an arrest in the case.
Prosecutors and the police were tight-lipped and gave little information about the case. Just this much: shots were fired shortly before 1 a.m. on Saturday night, an 18-year-old died, another 18-year-old survived with serious injuries. Numerous people alerted the police after the shots echoed through the night, a spokesman said.
Details of the course of events or possible suspects could not be found out from the authorities on Saturday. The investigators hoped that the population would provide information on possible escape vehicles. The public prosecutor’s office and the police said in a brief statement on Saturday morning that an extensive search had been carried out for suspects during the night. A police helicopter was also used.
A special commission was set up to clear up the case as quickly as possible. The 40 officers of the Soko “Goethe” would be supported by the State Criminal Police Office.
Is there a connection to other shots in the area?
Asperg is around 20 kilometers from Stuttgart. In the past few weeks, there have been repeated incidents of shots being fired at people around the state capital of Baden-Württemberg. On Thursday it became known that two young men were arrested after shooting at an innkeeper in Plochingen (Esslingen district).
The State Criminal Police Office had set up an investigation group after similar incidents had increased in the Stuttgart/Göppingen region in recent weeks. There were several injured. The joint investigation should help to identify connections.
In the most recent Plochinger case, the investigators reportedly had success on the day of the crime and were able to arrest the men. The 22-year-old was then taken into custody on Monday. They are said to have shot the restaurant several times. Its 34-year-old owner was injured. He was able to leave the hospital quickly.
Another innkeeper was shot in Plochingen on February 25th. The man was probably more of a chance victim: According to the information at the time, the 66-year-old had left the restaurant with guests at night because the noise of breaking glass had been heard. When the group noticed two masked people in front of a broken barber shop window, they spoke to the suspects. Then one of the two strangers shot – and hit the 66-year-old. He was seriously injured.
At the end of February, a 21-year-old woman was shot at from a moving car in Eislingen/Fils (Göppingen district). She was injured in the leg. In mid-March, unknown persons shot a 32-year-old in Stuttgart. Also last month, a man was shot in Hattenhofen (Göppingen district).
The public prosecutor’s office and the police have not yet commented on possible connections between the crimes. Detected in all directions.
Mayor comments on the fact
According to Asperg’s mayor Christian Eiberger (independent), the city’s population is in shock after the crime. “This is a new dimension of violence that I could not have imagined,” said Eiberger. The crime scene is in the middle of town.
The crime scene, a gravel parking lot, was not known as a typical meeting place for young people, said Eiberger. He was alerted by the fire brigade during the night and got an idea of ??the situation in the early hours of the morning. He now hopes that the police will find the man quickly. It is important that the population’s sense of security is restored.
