Mannheim. A man died on Tuesday after a police operation involving the use of firearms in Mannheim. The 31-year-old, armed with a machete, is said to have previously attracted negative attention in the area of the university library at the University of Mannheim, the Mannheim public prosecutor’s office, the Mannheim police headquarters and the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office (LKA) announced in the evening.
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He is also said to have become violent towards a library employee. “As a result, there was a threat to the emergency services, who subsequently had to use their firearms,” it continues. The man was injured by the use of a firearm and was taken to a hospital, where he initially received medical care but later died.
Police operation at the University of Mannheim: This is what eyewitnesses say
According to their own statements, three young men witnessed the incident in the Schneckenhof area up close from the start. The whole thing took place in the entrance area of the library, they say. The trio actually met there to study. They were just about to take a break. “I saw the guy complaining because he wasn’t allowed to put his stickers on. Then all of a sudden I see him take out his knife, a huge knife,” says one of the witnesses.
The LKA is now investigating. © Priebe
“It was a machete,” his friend interjects and says that he ran past the 31-year-old at that moment: “It was a huge, long machete with a long black blade. At first glance she looked like a toy. I thought he was just crazy.” At first he didn’t take the situation seriously. “It was only when security said, ‘Young man, don’t go too close to him’ that I realized it and walked away straight away.” University employees confirmed that the incident happened something like this.
University of Mannheim partially evacuated on Tuesday
According to a police officer on site, the university building was partially evacuated and was closed during the operation. “There were lectures taking place at the time,” police spokeswoman Sabine Abeln told this editorial team. The emergency services were deployed around 5 p.m.
There were numerous police cars and other emergency vehicles in front of the University of Mannheim. © Paul Brands
There were about a dozen police cars in front of the university building. The emergency services were also on site. Abeln explained about the operation: “There were shots fired, I can’t say how often and from how many pistols.” She couldn’t say much more about the operation and pointed out that the LKA took over the investigation for reasons of neutrality. This is common when police use firearms.
The entrance to the library where the event took place. © Kai Plösser
“When the patrol car crew arrived, the man was holding a machete in his hand,” the joint statement from the LKA, the public prosecutor’s office and the police headquarters continued. The shot was fired around 5:30 p.m.
This is what is known about the suspected rioter
The deceased was a man born in Saarbrücken and living in Mannheim who had already appeared before the police in the past. According to the investigators’ current findings, the 31-year-old has already been banned from entering the university library due to his repeated, conspicuous negative behavior.
LKA is investigating the death of a man in Mannheim
The focus of the investigations by the public prosecutor’s office and the LKA would now be particularly on a reconstruction of the entire sequence of events. Relevant traces were secured at the crime scene by forensic science at the Mannheim Police Headquarters. “The entire trace analysis, including an extensive and comprehensive ballistic examination, is carried out at the LKA’s Forensic Institute,” the statement emphasizes. The motive of the deceased should also be searched for. The investigation is ongoing.
When are police officers allowed to use their weapons?
According to the Interior Ministry, service weapons may only be used as an “ultima ratio”, i.e. as a last resort. Whether so-called direct coercion is used is decided by the respective police officer on a case-by-case basis and taking into account the principle of proportionality.
On December 23, 2023, a person was killed in Mannheim by police gunfire. One day before Christmas, police officers were on duty in the Schönau district on the 49-year-old German-Turkish man Ertekin Ö. shot. The man, in a psychological state of emergency, had been running around on the street for minutes armed with a knife. (with dpa)