A man was shot and killed by German police in the state of Baden-Württemberg on New Year’s Eve after stealing an excavator and going on a violent rampage with the vehicle.
Three police officers, two male and one female, were injured during a wild scene in the district of Main-Tauber in central Germany on Tuesday in which a 38-year-old man stole an excavator from a construction company in the town of Grünsfeld.
The man is said to have used the vehicle to destroy the inventory at the business before driving it a few kilometres to the town of Tauberbischofsheim, during which he damaged several police cars and other vehicles, Welt reports.
Police said that the man was stopped after an officer shot him. While there were efforts to resuscitate the man, he ultimately died on the spot.
The motivation for the rampage is currently unclear; however, police said that they did not believe there was a political element involved in the incident.
A police spokeswoman said that they were currently unable to confirm if mental illness played any role in the escapade.
The deputy chairman of the Baden-Württemberg state police union, Thomas Mohr, said: “The forces deployed acted professionally in an extremely dynamic and dangerous situation and thus prevented something worse from happening.”
“It is tragic, and the end of a human life is to be mourned, but the police had the responsibility to prevent further victims and to ensure the safety of the population.”
Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: [email protected]
Read the full article here