Former police trainee kills two officials during weapons check in Bavaria
A 60-year-old former police trainee shot and killed two district-office employees during a routine weapons inspection in Berngau, and was later wounded by special forces.
In Berngau, Upper Palatinate, a 60-year-old man who started police training in the 1980s but was expelled before finishing, fatally shot two employees of the Neumarkt district office during a routine, unannounced weapons inspection. The victims were a 45-year-old male staff member and his 54-year-old female colleague. After the attack, the shooter phoned the police control centre, confessed to firing the shots, and claimed he was armed and would not surrender peacefully.
He then entrenched himself in a house for several hours until special-operations units breached the premises, wounding him severely. He was transported under police guard to a hospital, where he remained as of Saturday. Authorities plan to bring him before an investigative judge to determine whether he will face pre-trial detention or be placed in a psychiatric facility.
Records show he possessed ten legally registered firearms as a licensed sports shooter and hunter. The routine check, ordered by the district office, had no prior notice, and officials have yet to explain why it escalated into lethal violence.
Why it matters
The incident shows the potential danger of routine weapons inspections and raises questions about vetting former police trainees.
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