Germany – At around 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, a still unidentified patient opened fire on Benjamin-Franklin Hospital in Steglitz, a district of the country’s capital, Berlin, killing his doctor.

The man started shooting at the jaw surgery area while being treated by a senior dental surgeon, who was killed in the incident. The man then shot himself. The doctor was taken immediately to intensive care but died two hours later because of his injuries. German police have stated the situation is under control, and that there was not a link with ‘Islamist militancy.’ So far, authorities have not released the shooter and the victim’s names.

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The shooter was 72, from Spandau, and was being treated at the hospital “from a serious illness.” Image Credit: The Sun UK

The victim was aged 55, a father of two and was supposed to be the shooter’s “long time doctor,” according to the medical director Ulrich Frei.

The shooter had come to the hospital on Monday, asking to speak with the victim, but since it was not possible came again today.

Regarding the motives, Frei stated it was probably the shooter own ‘despair’ rather than anger or revenge. However, the motives will be kept quiet, regarding medical confidentiality. The hospital will remain shut down on Wednesday, while the employees meet with counselors.

A painful fifteen days

The incident at the Benjamin-Franklin Hospital is the last of a series of attacks against German civilians in the past couple of weeks.

On July 18 an Afghan national with an ax injured five people on a train in Wurzburg. On July 22, Ali David Sonboly, an Iranian-German aged 18, went on a shooting spree in Munich, killing nine people (including four teenagers), and then proceeded to shoot himself.

Two days ago, on July 24, an unidentified Syrian refugee, 21, used a machete to slaughter a pregnant woman and wounded two more, in Reutlingen. Later that same day, a Syrian failed asylum seeker, aged 27, became a suicide bomber, killing himself and injuring 15 others outside a music festival in Ansbach.

The Islamic State have claimed responsibility for attacks in Wurzburg and Ansbach, while Sonboly was ‘inspired’ by Anders Behring Breivik, the man who killed seventy-seven people in Norway five years ago.

The fact that in most the attack refugees were involved only fuels the controversy regarding Germany’s migration policies

Horst Seehofer, Bavaria’s governor and leader of the party Christian Social Union have urged Germany authorities to do whatever is ‘necessary’ to protect German citizens.

“Each attack, each act of terrorism, is one too many. Islamist terrorism has arrived in Germany […] we need more security in Germany. People are riled up, full of fear, and that is completely understandable. They need reliable answers from politicians and not endless debates and justifications,” said Seehofer after a meeting between the country’s party leaders.

Seehofer has argued about increasing police powers and have asked for a change in the open borders policy on refugees, claiming the terrorist are using it to enter the country.

Seehofer announced nobody should be allowed to enter into Germany if they cannot prove their identity in a satisfactory way.

Source: Times of India