Shots echo through the night in Berlin. One man is killed, two others injured. According to the public prosecutor’s office, one of them is an innocent bystander. The perpetrator(s) escaped undetected. The shots were fired from a car in the Schöneberg district, according to investigators.
According to a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office, it was a so-called drive-by shooting. The term is used for shooting while driving past. The background to the crime is completely unclear.
Shots kill 42-year-old
The crime scene on Bülowstrasse, at the corner of Potsdamer Strasse, is a busy traffic artery in Berlin. The area is considered to be part of the red light district. Seeing a possible connection is speculation at this point, said the spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office. Investigations are being conducted in all directions. Possible witnesses are being questioned and recordings from video cameras in the area are being evaluated.
The shots fatally hit a 42-year-old Turk. Emergency services tried to resuscitate him at the scene. According to the public prosecutor’s office, however, he died a short time later in the ambulance. The body was autopsied. The public prosecutor’s office did not initially disclose the results of the forensic examination.
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Bystander must undergo surgery
A 44-year-old companion and fellow countryman of the deceased and a completely innocent bystander were also hit by the gunfire. The public prosecutor’s office initially did not confirm media reports that the innocent bystander was on a bicycle. The Brazilian was hit in the thigh, the spokesman said. Both men were taken to hospital and underwent surgery.
It was unclear what the red car at the crime scene was about. It also remained unclear how many shots were fired and what type of firearm was used.
Desperate people at the crime scene
The shots were fired at around 1 a.m., police and prosecutors said. They were fairly widespread. A large crowd formed around the secured crime scene during the night. Many people screamed in despair or cried.
The police secured the area over a wide area. Streets near the crime scene were closed to traffic until the morning due to the police operation, according to the Berlin Traffic Information Center.
Similar case in 2015
The incident is reminiscent of a shooting in Berlin-Wilmersdorf nine years ago in which an innocent woman was hit. In July 2015, unknown perpetrators shot two men on the sidewalk. One of them fired back. The shooters fled by car or on foot. The woman was also standing on the sidewalk with her bicycle and was shot in the leg. The 62-year-old was taken to hospital. According to police, her life was not in danger.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240905-930-224187/1
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