Armed robbery in Gelsenkirchen: Perpetrator attacked employee with pistol!

Armed robbery in Gelsenkirchen: Perpetrator attacked employee with pistol!

In the early morning hours of June 29, 2025, an arcade on Wanner Strasse in Gelsenkirchen became the scene of an armed robbery. An unknown man entered the premises around 6 a.m. and threatened a 62-year-old employee with a weapon. The incident gained particular attention because of the circumstances in which the employee and her dog were locked in the toilet while the perpetrator carried out his criminal activities. A witness who was alerted by unusual knocking noises called the police, who quickly arrived at the scene and also heard cries for help. Thanks to this quick reaction, the employee was uninjured, which casts the incident in a different light than initially assumed. This is reported by Radio Emscher Lippe.

The perpetrator, described as being around 1.80 meters tall, was dressed entirely in black and wore a mask or a pulled-up collar to hide his face. He demanded that the employee hand over the safe key and then had cash taken from the safe. After the attack, the perpetrator disappeared without a trace, which prompted the police to appeal to the public: witnesses are asked to provide information about the incident and the fleeing perpetrator. The officers can be reached on 0209 365 8112 or via the criminal station on 0209 365 8240, as News.de reports.

The situation in Gelsenkirchen

Robbery is a serious issue in Germany. According to the statistics, over 38,000 such crimes were recorded by the police in 2022, with robberies of financial institutions and gas stations being common crimes. There were over 23,500 home break-ins in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and yet it seems as if society is dealing with the issue internally. However, the clearance rate for robbery crimes is almost 60%, higher than for many other crimes, which brings a certain hope to the police's investigative work, as the information from Statista shows.

The Gelsenkirchen police have worked intensively on combating crime in recent years. However, the rise in theft and robbery remains a challenge. The statistics show a growing security awareness among the population in the coming years.

The hope now is that the search calls will bear fruit and the perpetrator will be caught quickly. Especially since the affected employee and her dog need to be supported not only professionally, but also emotionally. It remains to be hoped that the latest incident is a wake-up call for all citizens of Gelsenkirchen to be more careful and look out for one another.