Heidelberg shooter had previous links to neo-Nazi party: German media
Teen gunman killed fellow student, wounded 3 others in attack at university in southwestern Germany
BERLIN
A teenage gunman who killed a fellow student and wounded three others at Heidelberg University in Germany before committing suicide had previous ties to a neo-Nazi group, German media reported Wednesday.
According to the Die Zeit newspaper, the attacker, named only as Nikolai G., was a member of the militant neo-Nazi “micro-party” Der Dritte Weg (The Third Path), adding he left after a while.
Nach dem Angriff trauern die Studierenden in #Heidelberg, einige kehren zurück auf den Campus. So auch die 19-Jährige Amelie. Sie ist eine der drei Verletzten: https://t.co/HSqgGPoHUV #Abo pic.twitter.com/4DwE8MIdj5
— ZEIT ONLINE (@zeitonline) January 26, 2022
However, the Heidelberg public prosecutor’s office emphasized that there was no evidence that the attack was politically motivated.
Shortly before the crime, the 18-year-old gunman, who was a biology student at the university, reportedly sent a WhatsApp message to his father saying “people have to be punished” and his father reported it to the police.
It was discovered that the attacker bought a rifle and a shotgun and about 100 rounds of ammunition from Austria, and a third gun was found in a room he rented when he was in Austria.
It was also learned that he participated in the wounding of a man in Berlin in 2017 and that despite his mother filing a police report, the investigation did not result in his punishment.
The incident occurred Monday in Neuenheimer Feld, one of three campuses at Heidelberg University, which includes a medical school and natural sciences faculty.
*Writing by Seda Sevencan
