After a shot was fired at a police officer during searches in the “Reichsbürger” milieu, the discussion about tightening gun laws has become louder.
“We have to ensure that if there are signs that the person in question is dangerous, gun licenses are not even granted or withdrawn in good time,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) to the editorial network Germany (RND).
Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of the Interior, Thomas Strobl, also advocated tightening. It is high time that what was discussed at the conference of interior ministers in December was finally implemented, said the CDU politician in Stuttgart.
Impressions from the crime scene
Strobl reported on his impressions at the crime scene – and spoke of a frightening arsenal of weapons. “No one really needs what I saw there,” said Strobl. The arsenal of weapons in the building complex was considerable, frightening and perverse. The investigators only searched the suspect’s apartment on Thursday, and on Wednesday they only searched the basement rooms.
Investigators became aware of the man through documents that were found during the major raid against the “Reichsbürger” scene in December – but at the time of the search the suspect was only considered a witness. He is now in custody for several counts of attempted murder.
During the search there was an exchange of fire, the suspect was in his living room at the time – he hit a SEK officer on the arm. As Strobl now described, the man came out of the house voluntarily at around 7 a.m., surrendered and was arrested. The police officer was still in hospital treatment a day later, said state police chief Stefanie Hinz.
Much is still unknown about the alleged shooter. The sports shooter is said to have legally owned a lot of weapons; according to dpa information, 22 weapons were entered on his weapon ownership card. Accordingly, he also had a permit to possess explosives.
In connection with the “Reichsbürger” scene, there were searches in eight federal states and Switzerland early on Wednesday morning. “Reich citizens” and “self-administrators” question the legitimacy of the Federal Republic.
Large-scale raids could follow
The searches were related to a major raid in early December, which was directed against, among other things, the entrepreneur Heinrich XIII. Prince Reuss as the alleged ringleader. According to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, in the course of these investigations, in addition to the 25 main suspects so far, 5 new suspects are in their sights. They are suspected of supporting a terrorist organization that wanted to overthrow the political system in Germany.
Observers familiar with the proceedings consider it likely that the circle of suspects and witnesses will continue to grow. According to reports, the investigators initially focused on suspected accomplices of the “Reichsbürger” group, for whom an increased risk cannot be ruled out – for example because they have access to weapons.
Stricter gun laws demanded
At the conference of interior ministers, the CDU-led states of Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt and Hesse campaigned to ensure that members of anti-constitutional groups should no longer be able to get hold of pistols and rifles under any circumstances.
Already after the shooting in Hamburg with eight dead, Faeser had announced that gun laws would be tightened. Among other things, their plan envisages a ban on private individuals using semi-automatic long guns similar to military weapons. Anyone who applies for a license to own a gun should also have to prove their mental health in the future. So far, this has only been prescribed for people up to the age of 25.
So far, only those who are legally reliable are allowed to own weapons. The Weapons Act distinguishes between the so-called rule unreliability and absolute unreliability. Under no circumstances may permission be granted for the latter. This applies, for example, to people who have been convicted of a crime in the past ten years. For a current or former membership in a banned association, an unconstitutional party or anti-constitutional association, the unreliability of the rule has so far been attested. Extremists often objected to this and thus undermined the gun ban, according to the ministry.
