Cologne: Armed man apparently set fire to apartment ++ Injured police officers ++ Memories of Ratingen

Dramatic incident on Wednesday in Cologne! An armed man barricaded himself in his apartment, threatened the emergency services with a gas explosion, and finally lit a huge fire. Memories of the devastating large-scale operation in Ratingen are immediately brought back.

+++ Ratingen: New details about the attack revealed – THAT’S WHY the emergency services ran into the open knife +++

Review: On May 11, 2023, two police officers and seven firefighters were ambushed in Ratingen. They wanted to check on things and help in an apartment whose mailbox was overflowing. But the owner of the apartment attacked the rescuers, doused them with gasoline and caused it to ignite. The police officers and firefighters suffered terrible injuries, some of them struggled with death for weeks (>>> here is our detailed report).

Cologne: A fire occurs during SEK access

The emergency services probably had a similar scenario in mind on Wednesday morning (November 22nd) in Cologne. Therefore, SEK special police units ultimately gained access to an apartment in an apartment building on Börnestrasse in Cologne-Bocklemünd at around 10 a.m.

The 56-year-old owner of the apartment had already barricaded himself there for several hours. When the emergency services arrived, a huge fire actually broke out. A massive cloud of smoke rose from the apartment and swept up the facade, while violent flames could be seen through the windows. The details of this are still unclear. However, the police announced at midday that several people had been injured and were receiving medical attention. Ultimately, the flames were extinguished by the Cologne fire department.

Kölner (56) suddenly jumps from the balcony

But the situation got even worse: the 56-year-old man ran onto the balcony in the wake of the SEK attack and the fire. As the flames behind him became more threatening, he suddenly jumped over the balcony railing of the apartment on the second floor. He fell down and sustained significant injuries. Rescue workers took the seriously injured man to a hospital.

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According to the current status of the investigation by the Cologne police and the Cologne public prosecutor’s office, the 56-year-old threatened suicide to his partner at around 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning and armed himself with a knife. He is also said to have announced that he wanted to explode a gas bottle kept in the apartment. The partner then fled the apartment and alerted the police.

In the afternoon, the Cologne police announced that the public prosecutor’s office had begun investigations on suspicion of causing an explosive explosion and attempted murder. Fire investigators examined the apartment and found evidence that the 56-year-old started the fire. However, the exact course of events still needs to be determined.

The police also said that the injured included two officers who were taken to a clinic with minor injuries.

Incident in Münster

The police in Münster also experienced a similar incident on Wednesday morning (November 22nd). Here, around 10 a.m., a 49-year-old threatened to set fire to his apartment to a bailiff. The man, apparently in an exceptional psychological situation, was then in contact with trained police officers. He was finally taken into custody by a special unit without any damage.

>>Editor’s note<

To protect the families involved, we do not normally report on suicides or suicide attempts unless they receive special attention due to the circumstances.

Anyone who suffers from mood swings, depression or suicidal thoughts or knows someone who suffers from them can get help from telephone counseling. She can be reached on 0800/111-0-111 and 0800/111-0-222 or on the Internet www.telefonseelsorge.de. The advice is anonymous and free of charge; calls are not recorded on the telephone bill.