After Manhunt in Germany, 2 Bodies Found in Apartment

Suspect, his mother found dead after shooting rampage in Hanau
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 20, 2020 4:26 AM CST
German Mass Shooter Had 'Xenophobic Motivations'
A special forces officer guards the road in front of a house in Hanau, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020.   (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A gunman believed to have been a far-right extremist was found dead after a shooting rampage in the German city of Hanau Wednesday night. Authorities say that after a seven-hour manhunt, the body of the suspect was found in his apartment, along with the body of his mother, the BBC reports. The man, identified by German authorities as Tobias R., is believed to have killed at least eight people in shootings at two hookah bars in the Frankfurt suburb before killing his mother and taking his own life. Hesse state interior minister Peter Beuth says a website believed to belong to the 43-year-old suspect is being evaluated, and there are signs of a "xenophobic motivation," the AP reports.

Police say at least five others shot at the two bars, which were popular with people from the city's Kurdish community, suffered life-threatening injuries. "I condemn this act in sharpest terms. It is an attack on our free and democratic society," Beuth said. The minister said that after the shootings, authorities were able to identify the suspect with the help of tips from the public and surveillance video, reports the New York Times. Special forces stormed the man's apartment and found the two bodies. A Turkish government spokesman said some of the victims were from Turkey, the Guardian reports. "We expect German authorities to show maximum effort to enlighten this case. Racism is a collective cancer," Ibrahim Kalin said. (More Germany stories.)

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