Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Heidelberg shooting: Gunman killed and several injured in attack at German university

The shooting took place in the Neuenheimer Feld area of the city

David Harding
Monday 24 January 2022 16:39 EST
Comments
'No further danger': German police speaks on Heidelberg university shooting

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Several people were injured by a gunman at a lecture theatre in the southwest German city of Heidelberg on Monday, police said.

The gunman was dead, police added, but did not give details of how he had died. They had earlier asked people on Twitter to avoid the Neuenheimer Feld area of Heidelberg, where the city’s university is located.

“This is what is known so far: A lone perpetrator injured several people in a lecture hall with a long gun. The perpetrator himself is dead”, police said in a tweet.

German news agency dpa cited unidentified security sources saying that the gunman had killed himself.

Authorities would not confirm a report by dpa that one victim had died of her injuries a few hours after being shot in the head, again from unidentified security sources. A news conference was expected to take place on Monday evening.

It is not yet known how many people were wounded, or how seriously.

The man opened fire with a long-barrelled firearm in a lecture hall and then fled outside, police said. They stressed that they believed he was acting alone and that there was no longer any danger.

It was also reported that the gunman was believed to have been a student himself, and that security officials had said initial indications were that he did not have any political or religious motive.

Heidelberg is located south of Frankfurt and has about 160,000 inhabitants, and its university is one of Germany’s best known.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in