An employee of a German gas station, 20, was shot dead on Saturday by a client who refused to charge for not carrying a hygienic mask against the Coronavirus, which has caused a strong controversy throughout Germany.
The suspect, a 49-year-old man of Idar-Oberstein (West) who later admitted had not respected the rules, was put in custody, as announced on Monday night the local Rhineland-Palatinate police in a statement, reports AFP.
The employee of the gas station, a student, had refused to charge the customer who wanted to buy a beer pack because he did not wear a mask.
The man left, leaving his beers at the counter, and he returned an hour and a half later, this time with a mask but, as he passed, by the counter he took it to provoke.
After receiving the order to put on the mask again correctly, the client pulled out a pistol out of pocket and shot the student, who died on the spot, according to the police.
The suspect was presented at the local police station the next day.
The defendant told the police that he felt “cornered” by the measures of the pandemic of Covid-19, who perceived as a “growing violation of his rights” and that he did not see “another way out,” prosecutor Kai Fuhrmann said on Monday
.
The researchers then registered their floor, where they found the homicidal weapon, as well as other firearms and ammunition.
The mayor of Idar-Oberstein, Frank Frühauf, denounced a “terrible” act.
Residents deposited flowers and candles in front of the gas station.
The Minister of Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, of the conservative CDU party of Merkel, native of the region, said the murder was “shocking”.
Katrin Göring-Eckardt, an ecological leader, tweeted that he was “deeply shocked” by the murder, who said was “the cruel outcome of hatred”.
The police did not say if man was considered a member of the Querdenker Movement, which has become the main critical voice against sanitary restrictions in Germany.
The German national intelligence announced in April that he immediately put the members of the Querdenker for being suspected of having links with the extreme right.
