Two policemen shot dead at traffic control in western Germany

Two suspects have been arrested after an extensive search operation

WIESBADEN (GERMANY), 31 (DPA/EP)

Two German Police officers have been shot dead this Monday morning when they participated in a traffic control in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the west of the country, according to the authorities, who have arrested two suspects as allegedly responsible for the attack.

The two policemen, members of the department of the town of Kusel, were attacked for unknown reasons at around 4:20 am, in the Ulmet area. The GdP police union has identified the two deceased as a 24-year-old cadet and a 29-year-old inspector.

The victims had time to send a radio message asking for help, but by the time reinforcements arrived it was too late. The security forces have closed the regional road and have asked the residents of the area not to help anyone hitchhiking, in an attempt to find the perpetrators of the assault.

After hours of tracking, the security forces have finally arrested two people aged 38 and 32 in Sulzbach for their alleged involvement in the crime. According to the DPA agency, one of them would be Andreas Johannes Schmitt, a native of the town of Spiesen-Elversberg, in the state of Saarland, whose identity had previously been made public in search of citizen collaboration.

However, a police spokesman explained that the operation is still open, since he does not rule out that there are accomplices. Previously, DPA had reported that documentation of one of the suspects had been found at the scene of the incident.

The first data that has transpired indicates that the inspector fired several shots without knowing at the moment if they were warning shots or if they were aimed at the suspects. The cadet’s pistol did not fire and was still in her holster.

The Rhineland-Palatinate government has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in mourning for this “horrible” crime, in the words of the state’s prime minister, Malu Dreyer. “We are very sorry that two young people have lost their lives in the line of duty,” he said in a joint statement with the head of the state Interior, Roger Lewentz.