Trier: Suspected death driver should be before the judge

Five dead in Trier
Suspected death driver should be before the judge – also father of baby among the victims

After the death drive in downtown Trier with several dead, the urgent suspect should be brought before the judge on Wednesday. According to the public prosecutor’s office, there are indications of a possible mental illness in the 51-year-old. The judicial authority must therefore still decide whether to apply for pre-trial detention or placement in a closed psychiatric facility.

According to the police, the man has now also testified. “He’s talking to us,” said a police spokesman on Wednesday morning. However, no information could be given about the content of the statement. A specially set up information telephone has meanwhile been switched off again, but witnesses could report to the police at a different number. In addition, the police asked people not to share photos and videos on social media but to upload them to an information portal set up for this purpose.

According to the investigations so far, the man had run over people in the Trier pedestrian zone in a high-powered SUV early Tuesday afternoon. According to the Interior Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Roger Lewentz (SPD), he zigzagged his car in the city center. Five people died, including a nine-week-old baby. 14 other people were injured. About four minutes after the first emergency call, police officers were able to arrest the driver.

Death trip in Trier: investigators rule out political background

The man’s motive is still unclear, but the investigators have so far ruled out a political or religious background. There is also no evidence of accomplices or accomplices of the arrested person. The suspect is German and a native of Trier. He was drunk at the time of the crime; he was found to be 1.4 per thousand. Investigations are underway against him for murder, attempted murder and dangerous physical harm. According to the investigators, he lived in the car in the days before the crime.

In addition to the baby, the fatalities include three women aged 25, 52 and 73 years as well as the 45-year-old father of the child. They all come from Trier. The baby’s mother survived and, according to the authorities, is in the hospital as well as her one and a half year old son.

Memorial service for victims on Wednesday

Mayor Wolfram Leibe (SPD) spoke of the blackest day for the city in post-war history after the rampage. On Wednesday morning (10), the victims will be remembered at the Trier landmark Porta Nigra. In Trier Cathedral, around 100 people prayed for the dead, the injured and their relatives on Tuesday evening.

After the act, the city center was cordoned off for further investigations. During the night, the crime scene work was completed and the pedestrian zone was opened again

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DPA