Photo: REUTERS / copyright
Many consider it the first death to occur in Germany related to the rules to control the covid pandemic – 19.
A petrol station cashier was shot dead on Saturday in the town of Idar-Oberstein (Rheinland-Pfalz region, in the south-west of the country), following a dispute over the use of a face mask.
The suspect in the attack has been linked to conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic.
Identified only as Mario N, investigators believe the suspect is a .
Chancellor, Angela Merkel , condemned the death of the worker of 20 years, calling it an “atrocious” crime.
The Prosecutor’s Office said that the murderer had tried to buy beer at the gas station, but abandoned the store when the cashier refused to assist you because the customer was not wearing a face mask.
An hour and a half later, the man returned, this time wearing a mask. He started arguing again, took off his mask and shot the cashier in the head .
The suspect from 80 year-old turned himself in to police on Sunday.
Authorities have not released the victim’s name .
The The murder, which occurred a few days after the Germans came to vote in the parliamentary elections this Sunday, generated a great shock and rejection.
“Right-wing conspiracy theories”
After the event, analysts have been reviewing the suspect’s social media profiles, in which he spread information denying climate change, he expressed his support for the far-right party Alternative for Germany and stated: “I am waiting for the next war.”
According to the German press, the murder was celebrated in chats of internet groups frequented by the extreme right and followers of conspiracy theories.
“One less parasite” , said a comment that highlighted that the victim was a student, while another participant saw the attack as a natural step in the fight against what they define as the “Merkel dictatorship,” reported the diary Tagesspiegel .
Stephan Kramer, intelligence chief in the eastern state of Thuringia, warned of a marked increase in attacks.
“The escalation of right-wing conspiracy fantasies among citizens prone to aggressiveness and violence has been obvious for months,” he told the string RND.
Meanwhile, the CeMAS monitoring center said that the followers of the you orías of the conspiracy became bolder during the pandemic , attacking journalists and threatening doctors involved in vaccination.
The main candidates in the race to succeed Merkel as chancellor expressed their shock at the assassination.
“As a society, We must firmly confront to l hate “, said the center-left vice chancellor Olaf S cholz , who leads opinion polls.
Armin Laschet , from Merkel’s conservative CDU party, appealed to the people, in particular a group of covid deniers – 19 known as Querdenker (lateral thinkers), not to use violence.
The Green Chancellor candidate, Annalena Baerbock , said she was very concerned about the radicalization of Querdenker.
Although most of those who oppose the lockdowns are not seen as extremist, the national intelligence agency BfV said the Querdenkers were taking advantage of legal protests to “provoke an escalation.”
Hundreds of people were arrested in August of 2020 when they tried like this altar the parliament building, the Reichstag.
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