The background to the act of violence against a young person in front of a school in Bramsche near Osnabrück is still unclear. The alleged shooter, an 81-year-old Italian, was still not able to be questioned, said the spokesman for the public prosecutor's office, Alexander Retemeyer, on Wednesday. As soon as his state of health permitted, the man would be arrested for attempted murder and brought before the magistrate. The man's life is no longer in danger. The condition of the teenager was still critical on Wednesday.

The Italian is said to have shot his 16-year-old neighbor in the head in front of the house they shared on Tuesday morning. The victim suffered life-threatening injuries. The 81-year-old then shot himself, he too was initially in mortal danger.

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The man was a marksman, the murder weapon was a "typical marksman weapon," said the spokesman. It is a small caliber pistol. It has yet to be clarified whether he has a gun license for this.

According to Retemeyer, one day after the crime, the investigators continued to follow up on witnesses and evaluated traces of the crime scene. The suspect and the victim live in the same house. There must have been dissonance, the spokesman said.

Citing local residents, the "Bild" newspaper reported that the 81-year-old had often complained about noise pollution. Whether the motive for the act of violence was a neighborhood dispute has yet to be clarified, said Retemeyer.

The shots were fired in front of a residential building across from an elementary school. The school children had been kept away from the crime scene and the investigation by the police.