Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/02/19/mass-shooting-in-hanau-germany.html
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Combined with the return of mainstream fascism and ultra-nationalism to Germany, the nature of the two crime scenes makes me worried that racist mass violence is also back.
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Shit. That is very bad. Germany still has the occasional shooting with the rare hunting firearms that are allowed to the general public, but multiple shooters, working in concert. Very unusual and scary there.
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German police recently arrested a group planning multiple terrorist attacks on Muslim targets.
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Latest suggests 8 killed and at least 1 badly injured with shots potentially fired at a 3rd location, suspects still at large and police hauling ass to secure the area and search: https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/hanau-mehrere-menschen-sterben-durch-schuesse-a-d8d50e6b-70c7-4fdf-aff2-e81f493e3c70
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Notable: the locations were shisa shops/hookah lounges/hubbly bubbly spots, i.e., where a racist might be looking for furriners/brown people.
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I’m impressed how the DW report tries to stick to the facts they have and don’t speculate about things they don’t know. What is this style of journalism called? It is quite interesting
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Not to digress too much, and with all respect to the victims of the violence in Germany.
Here in Baltimore, I get alerts on the Citizen app of multiple-victim shootings within a mile or two of me… every few days? Shootings daily, murders daily. A lot actually within a 1-5 minute drive. I never should have downloaded this app! But I guess now I can, like, be more aware of gunmen and carjackers literally on the loose in the immediate vicinity?
Warning to Germany – do NOT let yourself become the USA when it comes to gun violence and overall access to guns, legal or illegal. Yes, in much of the USA violent crime is down to multi-decade lows, even with our all-too-common mass shootings. But in too many spots in the USA, violent gun crime is completely and utterly out of control. And I don’t see anyone, from any side of the political spectrum, with a real plan to do anything about it.
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That’s because anything that would actually work won’t fit on a bumper sticker and probably involves (gasp) eliminating poverty, providing opportunity to people, and helping people who are addicted to drugs. It would improve life too much for “them” and thus a lot of people (who like wearing red) would hate it.
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I do agree. However, the economy in Baltimore is in many ways better than it was 5-10 years ago, yet violent crime has gotten much worse. There are some very specific issues around policing, truancy, etc. that at least could be improved shorter-term, while we work on the problems that will take decades to fix, and that’s if we do EVERYTHING right, and that’s if climate change doesn’t fuck everything up first. I would take violent crime getting cut in half, which would still make it high, but not nearly so acute.
The police, I think, stopped doing their damn job after the riots that came after the Freddy Gray killing by police. Someone needs to make them do their job again, and do it in a constitutional manner. I hope my mayoral choice wins, because she is great, but I think a city crony will win, and nothing will change.
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FYI, “BILD” is kind of the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror and The Sun all rolled into one… don’t count on the factual accuracy of anything they write. There’s a rather popular blog (bildblog,de) that devotes multiple posts daily just to debunking them.
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I’m impressed how the DW report tries to stick to the facts they have and don’t speculate about things they don’t know. What is this style of journalism called? It is quite interesting
State owned. I don’t think it would work with Trump or de Pfeffel.
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From what I read, there are 11 dead now and 5 more gravely wounded, the alleged killer was found dead in his apartment and there is a letter claiming responsibility, very likely with right-wing content.
Edit: Two of the 11 dead are the alleged killer and another person found dead in the same apartment.
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Very sad news to wake up to. It’s far too early to speculate about at this time, and the morning television news is restricting itself to what is known.
It is troubling, that much is true, especially since firearm-related killings are so rare in Germany. I think the last one was several years ago in Munich, when a teenager shot and killed other teenagers at a shopping mall.
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What news to wake up to.
Hanau is just 20 KM east of of Frankfurt where I live. Lets say its not the best place, a bit run down industrial city, many immigrants. So I have to admit, the first thing that came to my mind when I read shooting in shisha bar, was turkish or arab gang war. We had an incident in Frankfurt a few months ago where some people with a turkish background got in an argument about debts and it endet with one of them fireing a gun, but nobody was hurt, so I assumed that it was something similar. But I guess if you assume you make an ASS out of U and ME.
So it was rightwing terrorism. Again. The gunman was apperantly a lone rightwing loonie, from what I learned he lived with his mother who he killed too. I wouldn´t be suprised if he was a Reichsbürger or an AfD sypathiser. But that too is again an assumption.
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Just heard on the radio that the Generalbundesanwalt will head the investigation which is a strong indication that there is an “ideological background”, i.e. the current working theory is right-wing terrorism.
Right now everybody is basically waiting for a press conference/statement from Karlsruhe.
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Remember the “Turkish gang war” that turned out to be a series of murders by neo-Nazi terrorists?
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Apparently the suspected perpetrator made a video in English, intended for Americans, warning of underground bunkers where children are abused and killed, and about satanic rituals. Which to me reads kind of like a red herring, to be honest. More likely his problems were much more local, petty resentment against immigrants and such, though who knows what was going on in his brain?
Die Ermittler fanden in der Wohnung zudem ein Video. Die Aufnahme, welche der Mann wenige Tage vor der Tat veröffentlichte, enthält eher wirre Verschwörungstheorien auf englisch - eine “persönliche Botschaft an alle Amerikaner”, aufgenommen in einer Privatwohnung. Darin sagt der Mann, in den USA existierten unterirdische Militäreinrichtungen, in denen Kinder misshandelt und getötet würden. Dort würde auch dem Teufel gehuldigt. Amerikanische Staatsbürger sollten aufwachen und gegen diese Zustände “jetzt kämpfen”. Ein Hinweis auf eine bevorstehende eigene Gewalttat in Deutschland ist in dem Video nicht enthalten. Bekennerschreiben und Video werden nun ausgewertet.
(Source: Hanau: Was wir wissen - was wir nicht wissen - Politik - SZ.de)
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