HANAU, Germany — A German who shot and killed nine people of foreign background in a rampage that began at a hookah bar frequented by immigrants had posted an online rant calling for the “complete extermination” of many “races or cultures in our midst,” authorities said Thursday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the attack exposed the “poison” of racism in the country.
The gunman, Tobias Rathjen, 43, was found dead at his home along with his mother. Authorities said they were treating the rampage as an act of domestic terrorism.
Turks, ethnic Kurds and people with backgrounds from Bulgaria, Bosnia and Romania were among those killed, according to news reports. Turkey’s ambassador said five of the dead were Turkish citizens. People of Turkish background make up Germany’s single largest minority.
Rathjen opened fire at the hookah bar and a cafe in the Frankfurt suburb of Hanau around 10 p.m. Wednesday, killing several people, then drove about 1.5 miles and fired on a car and a sports bar, claiming more victims. In addition to the dead, six people were injured, one seriously, authorities said.
Hookah lounges are places where people gather to smoke flavored tobacco from Middle Eastern water pipes. Metin Kan, who knew many of the victims, said it was obvious why the gunman chose the neighborhood.
“Look, a hookah bar there, a gaming parlor there, a doner kebab place there — it’s a place frequented by immigrants,” he said. “Why this hatred of foreigners? We all get along here.”
Kadir Kose, who runs a cafe nearby, said he was shocked at the extent of the violence: “This is a whole other level, something we hear about from America.”
The bloodshed came amid growing concerns about far-right violence in Germany and stepped-up efforts to crack down on it, including last week’s detention of a dozen men on suspicion they were planning attacks against politicians and minorities.
“This poison exists in our society and its is responsible for far too many crimes,” Merkel said, citing the killings of 10 people across the country between 2000 and 2007 by a far-right gang, the fatal shooting last year of a regional politician from her party, and a deadly attack outside a synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur in October.
She pledged to stand up against those who seek to divide Germany.
“There is much to indicate that the perpetrator acted out of far-right extremist, racist motives,” she said. “Out of hatred for people with other origins, other faiths or a different appearance.”
While investigators said it appeared the gunman acted alone, Germany’s federal prosecutor, Peter Frank, said authorities are trying to find out if there were others who knew of or supported the attack. He said his office is looking into any contacts the killer may have had in Germany or abroad.
Peter Beuth, interior minister for the state of Hesse, said it does not appear Rathjen had a criminal record or was on the radar of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
Witnesses and surveillance video of the getaway car led authorities quickly to the gunman’s home, where he and his 72-year-old mother were found dead with gunshot wounds, apparently bringing the number of victims killed to 10.
