The Heidelberg University shooting occurred on 24 January 2022, when an 18-year-old male student, Nikolai G., opened fire on a crowd during an ongoing lecture in Heidelberg University in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, killing one student and injuring three others. The shooter then fled the scene and later committed suicide by shooting himself.
The police arrived at the scene shortly after the attack, and launched an investigation. The gunman's motives are reported to be unclear. Several public figures and organizations expressed their condolences and offered support to the affected students and their families. It was the first school shooting in Germany that resulted in fatalities since the Winnenden school shooting in March 2009.
Background
Germany has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe, and school shootings are rare. Anyone under 25 is required to pass a psychological evaluation before getting a gun licence. The last school shooting in Germany that resulted in fatalities before the attack was the Winnenden school shooting in March 2009.
The university had initially opted to educate students virtually, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, but it resumed in-person learning in October 2021. The tutorial was split into small groups of about 30 students.
Shooting
The incident happened on Neuenheimer Feld, in the campus housing the medical faculty and natural science faculties of Heidelberg University, which is located in the town of the same name in southwestern Germany. The campus at Neuenheimer Feld, north of the Neckar, is mainly home to the natural science faculties and properties of the university hospital.
The 18-year-old gunman reportedly sent a text message on WhatsApp to his father directly before the shooting, claiming "people have to be punished now" and demanding a burial at sea. He entered a lecture hall located in INF 360 building at the campus, carrying a double-barreled shotgun (Akkar Churchill 512, 12 gauge) and a lever action rifle (Chiappa Firearms Model 1892), and opened fire with the shotgun on the crowd of 30 freshman students, who were participating in an ongoing organic chemistry class. Authorities reported the shooter fired shots across the amphitheatre "wildly".
He carried a backpack that contained 150 rounds of ammunition. The shooter fled the scene and was later found dead in the area of the Botanical Garden nearby; his death was ruled by investigators to be a suicide.
Police in Heidelberg said they had received seven calls within 43 seconds at 12:24 p.m., reporting the incident. At 12:30 p.m., three patrol crews were at the university. The police quickly ruled out other perpetrators.
Victims
The shooter injured four people, including a 23-year old woman who was shot in the head and died shortly afterwards at hospital. The other victims suffered minor injuries in the face, back, and legs. Two of the survivors were German women (the oldest being 21, the other 19 years old) while the third was a German man with Italian citizenship.
On 25 January it was announced that three injured people were healthy and discharged from the hospital. The funeral of the killed woman is planned to be held on the upcoming Monday in Heidelberg's St. Peter's Church.
Investigation
Police have launched an operation investigating the shooting, warning students not to go near the area where the shooting happened. Sniffer dogs patrolled the university grounds as the policemen carried out the operation. Over 400 police officers were involved in the investigation. Officers were spotted examining two firearms and a beige bag found in the nearby Heidelberg University Botanical Garden close to the scene. This was later confirmed by local authorities. On 25 January it was announced that a team composed of 32 investigators named "Botanik" were investigating the origin of the weapons and the suspect's motive under the directions of Heidelberg's public prosecutor's office.
The firearms used in the shooting were said to have been obtained from Vienna, Austria. Police found a receipt of the acquisition and are investigating which individual sold the weapons to the shooter. The perpetrator had no possession permit for weapons under German law. The used type of weapons can be bought by adults without restrictions in Austria.
The investigators were reportedly looking for evidence in the gunman's electronic devices to evaluate the possible motives of the attacker. Shortly after the attack the chief of Heidelberg's public prosecutor's office said it was too early to speculate on a possible motive for the gunman's actions.
