Ansbach gunman: Film-ready escape to Colombia exposes the system!

Ansbach gunman: Film-ready escape to Colombia exposes the system!

In a shocking turn of events, the Ansbach gunman who attacked a school in Ansbach in 2009, injuring nine classmates and a teacher, recently made headlines. During an approved exit from the psychiatric clinic in Erlangen, the 34-year-old applied for a passport on August 16, 2023 and thus began his escape to Colombia. This reports BR24. The fact that this step actually took place raises a number of questions, not least about the security precautions in facilities for mentally ill offenders.

The gunman used an almost twelve-hour exit, which he had been allowed to use regularly and during the day since the beginning of the year. The clinic was not informed of his absence until the night of August 17th, but by then the man was already in Colombia, which gave him an important time advantage of twelve hours. Senior public prosecutor Friedrich Weitner described the escape as “like a film” and noted that it was difficult for the police to track down the perpetrator, who took the train abroad and flew to Colombia from an unspecified airport. He not only had a real passport, the origin of which remains unclear, but also luggage.

Security question after the escape

The escape raises serious questions about how to deal with outdoor animals. Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann expressed concerns about whether people should be allowed to apply for passports in such facilities in the future. Investigators believe the man had accomplices. “The suspicion is that the escape was carefully planned and that some false leads were laid,” explained Weitner. For example, it is suspected that the gunman spoke of a meeting with a Dutch pen pal, which may have been made up.

After his arrest in Colombia, he was immediately brought back to Germany and transported to the closed psychiatric ward in Erlangen. He returned the morning after his arrest, and the clinic has since announced that it will review all relaxations for the man. Separate therapy is being worked on to deal with the incident accordingly.

The background to the rampage

The rampage in Ansbach is one of the most dramatic incidents in German school history. In 2010, the man was sentenced to nine years in juvenile detention for 47 counts of attempted murder and committed to a psychiatric hospital for an indefinite period. In recent years he had been deemed not to pose a threat to the public, making the escape all the more surprising.

The dangers of school shootings – not just at schools – have become evident again and again in recent years. In August 2024 there were three deaths in a knife attack in Solingen, and in December 2024 six people died in Magdeburg as a result of a shooting spree. Such acts not only provoke horror but also calls for increased security measures. The debate about how to deal with mentally ill offenders is becoming more complex, especially given the calls for greater protection and prevention that grow louder when tragic incidents occur in public. Statista has provided comprehensive information on this.