During a search on behalf of the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, an officer of a special task force was slightly injured by a shot. According to dpa information, the official is stable and the perpetrator arrested. The action on Wednesday took place in connection with investigations in the "Reichsbürger" milieu.
A spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor confirmed the arrest and that a shot was fired. The person is being investigated for attempted homicide. There were no other arrests. She has not yet been able to provide any information on possible injuries, nor on the background and scope of the searches.
According to the Karlsruhe authorities, it was a search of a person who had not previously been suspected. She could be brought before the investigating judge on Wednesday.
investigations throughout Germany
WDR, NDR and "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reported that searches had been carried out on 19 people in seven federal states and in Switzerland. According to "Spiegel", 22 objects are being searched throughout Germany, including in Berlin and in Singen. An object in the Göttingen area was also affected, as a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior in Hanover said.
At the beginning of December there was a large-scale anti-terror raid against "Reich citizens" in several federal states, Austria and Italy. At that time, 25 men and women were arrested. In this process, the federal prosecutor also determined against 30 other people. It had always been said that it could not be ruled out that more suspects would be added over time.
The new searches are related to this. WDR, NDR and "SZ" reported, citing the federal prosecutor's office, that five additional suspects were among those searched. They come from Bavaria, Saxony and Lower Saxony. The other 14 have not yet been considered suspects, but witnesses, and apparently appeared in chats.
"Reich citizens" are people who do not recognize the Federal Republic and its democratic structures. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution counted around 23,000 people across Germany in 2022, 2,000 more than in the previous year.
