Hanau shootings

The Hanau shootings occurred on 19 February 2020, when nine people were killed and five others wounded in a terrorist shooting spree by a far-right extremist targeting two shisha bars in Hanau, Hesse, Germany. After the attacks, the gunman returned to his apartment, where he killed his mother and then committed suicide. The massacre was called an act of terrorism by the German Minister of Internal Affairs. The perpetrator has not been linked to a terrorist organization or extremist group.

Shootings 
The shootings took place at around 22:00 local time (UTC+1) on 19 February 2020, in two shisha bars—one at the Midnight Bar in Hanau's central square, and the other at the Arena Bar & Café in Kesselstadt. Reports showed that both bars are mostly frequented by Turkish citizens. The attacker first started aiming at three guests, followed by the waiter who had just served them. The police initiated a large-scale investigation. It was initially reported that the suspects were at large. The gunman, later identified as Tobias Rathjen, then drove home where he shot his mother while his father was able to escape. He then shot himself. He and his mother were discovered by police at 05:15 the next day when they gained entry.

Victims 
The nine people killed by the attacker during the two shootings were identified as four Germans (two of whom with Kurdish origins, another of Sinti origins and another with Afghan nationality), two Turks, a Bosnian, a Bulgarian, a Romanian. The owner of one of the bars was among the victims. Three immediately died in the first shooting, five immediately died in the second, and a ninth victim died in hospital the next day. The attacker's German mother was killed after the bar shootings.

Two Turkish-Germans, an Afghan-German and a Cameroonian were among the five people injured.

Perpetrator 
The gunman was identified as 43-year-old Tobias Rathjen, a far-right extremist. He published a manifesto and videos on his personal website, showing his political beliefs and theories surrounding US President Donald Trump stealing his slogans, eugenics, and expressing frustration that he could never experience an intimate relationship with a woman due to psychological issues during his lifetime. He stated that he had been guided by voices inside his head since birth and that he was being followed by secret agents. Rathjen expressed a hatred for migrants and called for a mass killing of people from the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and North Africa. He also expressed a hatred for German citizens who allowed immigrants into their country, and considered them as "impure".

According to Germany's general prosecutor Peter Frank, Rathjen had contacted German authorities with his conspiracy theories three months before the attack: on 6 November 2019, Rathjen had written a letter to the Public Prosecutor General urging action against a "secret service" organisation, which he claimed was tapping into people's brains to control world events. He called on authorities to "approach me and communicate with me". No action was taken in response. Parts of this 19-page letter were virtually identical to his 24-page manifesto published on his website in February 2020, but it was unclear whether it included any threats against ethnic minorities.

Near the Arena Bar, text linked to the perpetrator's website was found written in graffiti on a wall before it was covered over by police.

Investigation 
Federal prosecutors are treating the attack as terrorism, with officials saying there is evidence the gunman was a far-right extremist, as well as signs of xenophobic motives for the killings. Peter Beuth, the Minister of the Interior in the state of Hesse, stated on 20 February that a homepage found by investigators indicated a right-wing political motive for the shootings. A letter and a video clip of a confession were reportedly discovered and are being analysed by the police.

Reactions 
As a result of the shootings, German Chancellor Angela Merkel cancelled a planned trip to Halle and expressed her condolences to the victims' families. The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, also offered condolences. Some Turkish citizens were among the victims of the shooting; the Turkish government described it as a form of racism and urged a prompt investigation. German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, his wife Elke Büdenbender, and the Hesse minister-president Volker Bouffier attended a vigil at one of the shooting sites. Pope Francis extended his sympathy to the families who lost their loved ones during the shooting incident in Hanau, through the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

On 23 February, 10,000 mourners marched through the streets of Hanau, in order to show unity and support for the victims. The mayor of Hanau gave a speech to the gathering.

On 24 February, in response to the shootings, the United Kingdom proscribed Sonnenkrieg Division, the British branch of the American neo-Nazi organisation Atomwaffen Division, as a terrorist group. Another UK-based far-right organisation, System Resistance Network, was also proscribed as an alias for National Action, which had been proscribed as a terrorist organisation since 2016.

See also 

 List of right-wing terrorist attacks

References 

Category:2020 mass shootings in Europe
Category:2020 murders in Europe
Category:21st century in Hesse
Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 2020
Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Germany
Category:February 2020 crimes in Europe
Category:February 2020 events in Germany
Category:Hate crimes in Europe
Category:Kurds in Germany
Category:Mass murder in 2020
Category:Mass murder in Germany
Category:Mass shootings in Germany
Category:Murder in Hesse
Category:Neo-Nazi attacks in Germany
Category:Spree shootings in Germany
Category:Terrorist incidents in Germany in 2020
Category:White nationalist terrorism