Photo: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
Police and the US Air Force confirmed on Sunday that two US military service members were arrested in western Germany in the death of a man in an amusement park.
A 28-year-old man was stabbed to death in an incident that followed a “discussion” at the Säubrenner fair in the small town of Wittlich on Saturday night, police in the nearby city of Trier said in a statement.
Authorities said in the statement that two male suspects have been arrested and have been identified as US servicemen who visited the fair with friends.
Police said they initially identified a group of four people seen by witnesses at the crime scene, but narrowed in on two suspects only identified as US military, ages 25 and 26.
Their names and ranks have not been released by German police or the US Air Force in Europe.
The victim has also not been identified.
A police spokesman in Trier confirmed to NBC News on Monday that the victim is a German national. While the two US service members are stationed at the US Air Force’s Spangdahlem Air Base, which is near the city.
the two suspects handed over to US authoritiessaid the police, who will take over the investigation “in accordance with the status of NATO troops.”
The US Air Force confirmed that the two men were questioned and then transferred to US custody.
“This is certainly an intolerable and preventable tragedy in our peaceful community. We thank the local police and the leadership of the city of Wittlich for their partnership and patience as the investigation continues,” Col. Kevin Crofton, commander of the 52nd Fighter Wing stationed at the base, said in the statement.
Both service members will remain in US custody during the investigation, according to the statement.
The mayor of the west German city, Joachim Rodenkirch, said on Saturday: “I am shocked and terribly saddened that a young man died in such a brutal way at the Säubrenner fair, where many people come together to celebrate peacefully.”
He claimed that the incident at the annual fair, which he described as “an important part of the city’s identity”, had “changed the city overnight”.
On Sunday, in a second press release, the mayor thanked the police for the quick identification and arrest of the suspects.
The United States has long stationed military personnel in Germany, a close economic and military ally. On its website, Spangdahlem Air Base, which is home to the US Air Force’s 52nd Fighter Wing, says it “provides Air Force options to deter and combat aggression” on US Air Force territory. NATO.
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