Man of color, deadly shot by a German policeman. The forensic expert shows that the bullets were pulled from behind
April 24, 2025, the lower Saxony, Oldenburg: at the scene of the crime, countless photos, flowers and candles commemorate Lorenz, who was deadly shot by the German police. At least three bullets hit the 21-year-old in the back on Easter Sunday. Photo: Schuldt Sina / DPA / Profimedia
A German policeman was suspended from office waiting for a murder investigation, after collecting a man of a 21-year-old man, state prosecutors announced on Thursday, in a case that aroused concerns about Racism, according to Reuters.
The police said that the man began to spray tear gas on the employees in the field of security and guard who worked for a nightclub in Oldenburg, in the north of the country, on Sunday morning, after refusing the entrance, and caused them light wounds. He also threatened people with a knife before running away.
A patrol car last arrived the man, who sprayed tear gas again as he headed “threateningly” to a 27-year-old officer, who opened the fire, the German police said in a statement issued on Sunday.
The forensic expertise found that three bullets hit the man in the neck, at the top of the body and in the hip, prosecutors from Oldenburg said on Wednesday. Basically, the expertise suggests that the young man was shot in the back.
Authorities did not reveal the victim's identity, invoking the German data protection law, but the local press identified as Lorenz A.
The investigation for murder will probably take “a period”, focusing on the images of the surveillance cameras, a spokesman for the Oldenburg Prosecutor's Office told Reuters on Thursday.
The incident has aroused criticism from organizations that advocate for the defense of human rights.
“Deadly violence against people of color is not an isolated incident,” said Tahir della, spokesman for the initiative of color people (FDI). “It is a systemic problem, an institutional problem, which must be approached accordingly,” he said.
Amnesty International Germany has requested measures to end the structural racism within the police and the establishment of independent investigation mechanisms, which are not controlled by the police or the local authorities.
On Friday, a rally is planned in Oldenburg, organized by the “Right for Lorenz” initiative, which was created on social networks and attracted over 10,000 followers. According to accounts on social networks, over 1,000 people are expected.
The deadly shootings from police officers are relatively rare in Germany.
Racism in the German police forces was put in the light of the reflectors in 2020, when an investigation was launched on some police suspected of using a chat group on their mobile phones to change racist messages about African and Muslim migrants.
