The Hanau Shootings

Hanau, Germany · 2020

solved Terrorism / extremism February 19, 2020

Perpetrator

Tobias Rathjen

Tobias Rathjen was a 43-year-old German man from Hanau who carried out the attacks. He had a legally held firearm and had published a manifesto and videos online espousing racist, xenophobic and conspiratorial views. After the shootings he returned home, killed his mother and then himself. Authorities classified the attack as a far-right, racially motivated act of terrorism.

Victims

Ferhat Unvar (22)
Gokhan Gultekin (37)
Hamza Kurtovic (22)
Said Nesar Hashemi (21)
Vili Viorel Paun (23)
Mercedes Kierpacz (35)
Kaloyan Velkov (33)
Fatih Saracoglu (34)
Sedat Gurbuz (30)
Gabriele Rathjen (72)

Location

Hanau, Germany

Summary

On 19 February 2020, a gunman killed nine people of migrant background in two shisha bars in Hanau, Germany, before killing his mother and himself in a far-right terror attack.

Details

On the evening of 19 February 2020, Tobias Rathjen opened fire at the Midnight shisha bar and the Arena Bar in the Hanau districts of the city centre and Kesselstadt, killing nine people, most of them of Turkish, Kurdish, Roma, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Afghan and Romanian background. He then drove home, shot and killed his 72-year-old mother, and took his own life. Police found his body and that of his mother in the early hours of 20 February. The attack was investigated by federal prosecutors as a far-right, racist act of terrorism, and prompted national debate over far-right extremism and gun control in Germany.

Overview

On the evening of 19 February 2020, a gunman carried out a racist terror attack in the city of Hanau, in the German state of Hesse, near Frankfurt. The perpetrator, 43-year-old German national Tobias Rathjen, shot and killed nine people of migrant background at two locations associated with shisha bars before driving home, where he killed his 72-year-old mother and then himself. The attack is regarded as one of the deadliest far-right terrorist acts in Germany since reunification, and it intensified national debate about right-wing extremism and racism in the country.

The nine murdered victims came from a range of backgrounds, including people of Kurdish, Turkish, Bosnian, Romani and other origins. Several others were wounded. The attack provoked widespread shock, vigils across Germany, and condemnation from political leaders, who described it as an act of racist terrorism.

The attacks

The shootings began at around 10 p.m. at a bar and kiosk in Hanau's city centre, where the gunman opened fire and killed several people. He then travelled by car to a second location in the Kesselstadt district, attacking a shisha bar and an adjacent kiosk, where he killed further victims. In total, nine people were murdered at the two scenes, and several more were injured.

After the shootings, the perpetrator drove to his home in Hanau. There, police later found the bodies of the gunman and his mother. He had shot his mother before turning the weapon on himself. The perpetrator was a legal gun owner and a member of a shooting club, a circumstance that fed subsequent debate over German firearms licensing.

Perpetrator and motive

Tobias Rathjen was a German citizen who had lived in the Hanau area. Before the attack he had published a manifesto and videos online expressing racist, xenophobic and conspiratorial views, including calls for the elimination of entire populations from certain countries. German federal prosecutors classified the attack as having a far-right, racist motive and treated it as an act of domestic terrorism.

The manifesto also contained material described as reflecting paranoid and delusional thinking. Authorities and commentators noted that the writings combined a clear extremist, racist ideology with apparent signs of mental disturbance. The Federal Prosecutor General (Generalbundesanwalt) took over the investigation given the terrorist nature of the crime.

Investigation and official failings

In the aftermath, scrutiny fell on whether authorities could have prevented the attack. It emerged that the perpetrator had previously contacted federal prosecutors with a complaint reflecting his conspiratorial beliefs, yet he had retained firearms licences and access to weapons. Questions were raised about gun ownership controls and about how warning signs had been handled.

Particular controversy surrounded the police response on the night of the attack, including reports that an emergency call number was difficult to reach and that an emergency exit at one of the locations had been locked, issues raised by victims' relatives who argued that lives might have been saved. These concerns later became central to demands for an independent inquiry.

Aftermath and remembrance

The attack prompted large memorial gatherings in Hanau and across Germany, and senior politicians, including the federal president and chancellor of the time, condemned the killings as racist terrorism. The bereaved families formed an initiative to press for accountability, transparency and remembrance, and they pushed for a parliamentary committee of inquiry in Hesse to examine the conduct of the authorities.

Hanau has since become a focal point in German discussions about racism, right-wing extremism and the protection of minority communities. Annual commemorations honour the nine murdered victims, and their names have been widely publicised as part of efforts to ensure they are remembered as individuals rather than reduced to statistics.

Video Coverage

Frequently asked questions

What was the The Hanau Shootings case?

On 19 February 2020, a gunman killed nine people of migrant background in two shisha bars in Hanau, Germany, before killing his mother and himself in a far-right terror attack.

Who was responsible for The Hanau Shootings?

Tobias Rathjen. Tobias Rathjen was a 43-year-old German man from Hanau who carried out the attacks. He had a legally held firearm and had published a manifesto and videos online espousing racist, xenophobic and conspiratorial views. After the shootings he returned home, killed his mother and then himself. Authorities classified the attack as a far-right, racially motivated act of terrorism.

Who were the victims of the The Hanau Shootings case?

The named victims were Ferhat Unvar, Gokhan Gultekin, Hamza Kurtovic, Said Nesar Hashemi, Vili Viorel Paun, Mercedes Kierpacz, Kaloyan Velkov, Fatih Saracoglu, Sedat Gurbuz, Gabriele Rathjen.

Where and when did the The Hanau Shootings case take place?

It took place in Hanau, Germany in 2020.

Was the The Hanau Shootings case solved?

This case is recorded as solved.

Sources & further reading

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