Suspected perpetrator arrested in cornfield after double murder in Bremen-Vegesack

Course of the crime in Bremen-Vegesack

According to the Bremen public prosecutor's office, the 22-year-old suspected perpetrator lives in the same multi-family building as the two victims. The investigators assume that the suspect committed the killings on Friday in Bremen-Vegesack. The man is known to police, but has no prior convictions, it was further stated.

Manhunt and arrest in Schwanewede

Police had been searching for the 22-year-old since Saturday evening with a public manhunt and had explicitly warned against him. "Der Mann gilt als gewalttätig und gefährlich", the statement said. The investigators appealed to the public: "Sprechen Sie den Gesuchten nicht an und bringen Sie sich nicht selbst in Gefahr."

The decisive tip came from witnesses who had seen the suspect on Sunday evening in the cornfield in Schwanewede in Lower Saxony, approximately six kilometers from the crime scene. Special operations forces arrested the 22-year-old there with life-threatening injuries. How the suspect got to Schwanewede is still unclear, according to the investigators.

The arrested man had to be resuscitated and underwent emergency surgery in a clinic during the night from Sunday to Monday. As a spokesman for the Bremen public prosecutor's office told NDR Niedersachsen, the 22-year-old is now out of life-threatening condition: "Der 22-Jährige befinde sich mittlerweile außer Lebensgefahr." Due to his severe injuries, he cannot be brought before the magistrate; the judge is expected to come to the clinic on Monday.

Background and psychiatric help

According to current findings, the suspect inflicted the injuries on himself. The investigators assume that he intended to take his own life. The Bremen public prosecutor's office has so far not commented on a possible motive.

Already in April, the 22-year-old had drawn attention by shooting around with an air pressure gun, according to the public prosecutor's office. When police arrived at the time, he allegedly jumped from a window and hid in a bush. According to the information, he was taken to a psychiatric clinic, from where staff classified him as not dangerous and discharged him.

The background to the crime remains the subject of the investigation. For relatives and those affected, police provide various support services, including the telephone counseling service at 0800 1110111 or 0800 1110222, the nationwide helpline "Gewalt gegen Frauen" at 116016, and the helpline "Gewalt an Männern" at 0800 1239900.