Three dead, two injured and one big question on day two after the fact: How could a neighborhood dispute in the tranquil Langweid am Lech near Augsburg escalate to such an extent that a 64-year-old resident took up arms on Friday evening and allegedly shot three of his neighbors ?
The investigators do not yet have an answer. “The background to the crime is currently the subject of investigations,” said a police spokesman. When asked by stern, the police did not want to answer whether the suspect had already commented on the crime. However, one thing is clear: the investigations against the man are ongoing, among other things, for triple murder. On Saturday afternoon, a judge issued an arrest warrant for him.
One thing is also certain: the 64-year-old is no stranger to the police. Since 2018, officials have repeatedly been called to the apartment building in the center of the 9,000-inhabitant community near Augsburg because of neighborhood disputes. “There were investigations into various incidents, such as scuffles, insulting statements and threatening gestures,” the police said. According to the information, the man does not have a criminal record.
On the day of the crime, hours before the fatal shots were fired, a patrol car drove out to the apartment building on Schubertstrasse again – again because of a neighborhood dispute. When he arrived, the 64-year-old had already temporarily fled the scene. He returned around 7:15 p.m. at the latest – and then apparently took up arms.
According to the investigators’ findings so far, he shot a 49-year-old woman and her 52-year-old husband and a 72-year-old through their apartment door in the stairwell (the star reported). He is said to have then driven his car about 500 meters to another house and shot a 32-year-old and a 44-year-old there. The two were taken to the hospital with injuries. “As things stand at present, there was no danger to life,” the police said on Saturday.
About half an hour after the first shot, officers were able to arrest the man in his car, less than two kilometers from the crime scene. They found two handguns, i.e. revolvers or pistols. Investigators found more weapons in the 64-year-old’s apartment. How many and what kind, the police did not say on request. The man apparently owned at least some weapons legally. “The man had a gun permit,” said a police spokesman to the star. He was active as a marksman.
A boy is now growing up in Langweid without his parents – they were shot during the escalated neighborhood dispute. He is currently with family members and is being cared for professionally, according to the police. It is not known whether he had to witness the murder of his mother and father.
Sources: Police Headquarters Swabia North, DPA news agency
