As a young man tries to get into his Mercedes, an unknown man pulls the trigger. At least one projectile hits the 32-year-old and he dies in hospital. Apparently there had been several attacks on the man in the past few weeks.
The 32-year-old, who died after being shot in front of a gym in Cologne, is said to have been the target of attacks several times. On Wednesday, police and public prosecutors linked the case to several shootings that had occurred in Cologne and nearby Hürth in recent weeks – as well as the discovery of a hand grenade. It is assumed that there is a “clear connection to the rocker milieu,” Cologne senior public prosecutor Ulrich Bremer told the German Press Agency about the case. However, the background is still unclear.
The ultimately fatal shots at the 32-year-old were fired on Tuesday afternoon in the Kalk district of Cologne. The man was seriously injured and died a short time later in a hospital – from a shot in the stomach, as the police announced a day later.
Witnesses reported that an unknown person shot when the 32-year-old tried to get into a car. The shooter is then said to have fled masked on an e-scooter. He hasn’t been caught yet.
Shots also near the apartment
As the police announced, on August 29th someone fired shots from a fully automatic weapon at an apartment building in the Ostheim district of Cologne, where the 32-year-old is said to have often stayed. On September 6th, shots were fired near his apartment in Hürth.
On September 18th, a hand grenade was found under a burned-out car, also in Cologne-Ostheim. This case is also related to the investigations in which the man who has now been killed is considered the target of the attacks, according to the investigators.
The police reported that interrogations of the 32-year-old at the time “did not shed light on the facts.” Measures have also been taken to protect him at his place of residence and residence.
The investigation revealed that the man made his location public on social media on Tuesday afternoon.
dpa/con
