After the fatal shooting of two men at the Mercedes plant in Sindelfingen, around a thousand people have gathered at the local Ditib mosque for a funeral prayer. The event was peaceful and without disturbances on Saturday, a police spokesman reported on request. According to the city, the mosque belongs to the Turkish-Islamic community of Sindelfingen.
Background still unclear
The background to the attack remained unclear – the alleged shooter has not yet commented on it, as the investigators had reported on Friday.
The 53-year-old Turk did not give any information to the magistrate. At the weekend, investigators initially did not comment further on the case, which had caused a considerable stir, including in Turkey.
The alleged shooter is in custody, he is accused of two counts of manslaughter. To solve the crime, the police set up a seventeen-member investigation team called "Halle". According to the public prosecutor's office, nothing is ruled out, including a political background.
The suspect is said to have shot on Thursday with a pistol that he probably possessed illegally. All three men worked for the logistics company Rhenus.
According to investigators, the two dead are two 44-year-old men. A police spokesman did not provide information on the nationality of the victims.
On Monday (14:30 p.m.) there will be a minute of silence at the plant in Sindelfingen near Stuttgart, a company spokesman reported on Sunday. "Employees from other locations are invited to pause at this time as well." For the affected employees in the factory hall, there will also be a separate memorial and information event before the start of production.
Around 35,000 employees work on the huge site near Stuttgart. In addition to the E-Class, the S-Class and its electric counterpart, the EQS, will also roll off the assembly line.