Shooting at a residential building in Cologne: Drug war escalates again!

Shooting at a residential building in Cologne: Drug war escalates again!

On July 13, 2025, another serious incident of gun violence occurred in Cologne-Kalk. At 2:30 p.m., an unknown perpetrator fired at least four shots at a residential building. Fortunately, there were no injuries in the incident, but the bullet holes in the front door and the bullet casings in front of the building testify to the danger of the crime. A parked car was damaged by a glancing blow and the perpetrator escaped at high speed in a white car. The criminal police are already on the case and are investigating a possible connection with other similar acts that have occurred in Cologne and the surrounding area in recent months. N-TV reports that a similar incident took place in Wesseling just a week and a half ago.

The background to these violent events appears to arise from a drug-related conflict. Investigators suspect that drug gangs are behind the shooting and that the situation has escalated around a marijuana robbery from a warehouse. According to the records, the alleged main actors come from Cologne-Kalk, and trials are already underway at the Cologne regional court in connection with the so-called Cologne drug war.

Drug war and its consequences

Three men are currently standing before the Cologne Regional Court accused of serious crimes, including explosions, a robbery of 700 kilograms of marijuana and taking hostages. These acts occurred in June 2024 when the men decided to hide cannabis in a warehouse in Hürth. In particular, 22-year-old Aymen G. is accused of being involved in the marijuana robbery, in which opponents were tied up and mistreated. Here too, in addition to aggravated robbery and deprivation of liberty, the charges include several violations of the weapons law, as ZDF reports.

These violent clashes not only affected those directly involved, but also unsettled the population, as explosions and shots fired at residential buildings were repeatedly reported. It appears that a new phenomenon called “crime as a service” is playing a role. Drug gangs are increasingly recruiting young men from the Netherlands as henchmen, often from precarious backgrounds, who take on criminal jobs for low pay.

Investigations and security measures

The police have significantly increased security precautions for the ongoing trials in Cologne. In January 2025, 23 people from various drug gangs in Cologne were arrested, a significant success for the investigators, as police chief Michael Esser emphasized. Nevertheless, the situation remains tense and citizens hope that the violence in their neighborhoods will soon de-escalate. The developments surrounding the drug war in Cologne continue to be worrying and are certainly high on the security authorities' agenda.