HANAU — 2020 · Major Tragedy
Hanau Racist Attack
On the night of 19 February 2020 in Hanau, a 43-year-old man with far-right and racist views opened fire at two shisha bars in the town centre and then at a café in the Kesselstadt district. Nine young people, most of them from migrant backgrounds including several of Turkish origin, were killed and others wounded. The attacker then returned home, killed his mother and took his own life. Federal prosecutors classified the attack as far-right terrorism. It emerged that he had published a racist manifesto and held legally licensed firearms. Families demanded accountability over failures such as an overloaded emergency hotline and an emergency exit alleged to have been locked; the attack deepened Germany's debate on racism.
- Date
- 2020
- Place
- Hesse, Germany, Hanau, DE
- Category
- Major Tragedy
- Case Status
- Closed
- Coordinates
- 50.1340, 8.9170 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 19 February 2020, 21:55The attacker opened fire at two bars in the town centre.
- 19 February 2020He attacked a café in Kesselstadt; nine people were killed in total.
- 20 February 2020He and his mother were found dead at home; federal prosecutors took over.
- 2021–2023A Hesse state parliament inquiry examined the authorities' failings.
Sources
- BBC News — Hanau shootings bbc.com ↗
- The Guardian — 'He shot our children': how the Hanau attack unfolded theguardian.com ↗
- Wikipedia — Hanau shootings en.wikipedia.org ↗
- BBC News
- The Guardian
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.