Verdict in the case of the escaped ambulance: tension in Kiel!

Verdict in the case of the escaped ambulance: tension in Kiel!

Today, September 25, 2025, the public is eagerly awaiting the verdict in a scandalous criminal and psychiatric case. 29-year-old André R. is on trial after he stole an ambulance in Hamburg in November 2024. This exciting chase took him over 100 kilometers, eventually crashing into a bridge railing in Kiel. How NDR reports, the public prosecutor's office has demanded a prison sentence of three years and six months and placement in a psychiatric hospital.

André R. was recently released from a specialist psychiatric clinic where he had been admitted around the day of the crime. Despite his history of several mental health problems, his defense wanted to request a lenient sentence and did not see psychiatric commitment as necessary. The decision about the defendant's guilt will be of crucial importance. His escape started at Heiligengeistfeld in Hamburg, took the A7 motorway and ended in Kiel city center.

A chase with dramatic twists and turns

During the chase, in which around 20 patrol cars were involved, André R. tried several times to evade the police's grasp. He raced through Großenaspe, Neumünster, Bordesholm and Flintbek while the police repeatedly tried to get him to stop. Eventually the stolen ambulance hit a bridge pillar, which ended the chase. The defendant even demanded a police officer hostage and threatened to blow up the ambulance. Fortunately, after intensive searches, no explosives were found.

The public prosecutor's office continues to investigate, and André R. is not only facing the chase, but also other charges ranging from theft to disturbing the public peace to dangerous interference with traffic. The 29-year-old was already known to the police in the past, in particular for a similar act in which he stole a tractor in Saxony-Anhalt in April 2024 and threatened with an alleged explosive vest during a NATO exercise. Here, too, there were no real explosives, but that did not lessen the severity of his threats.

The police and their burdens

In another exciting context are the increasing acts of violence against emergency services and fire departments in Germany. Between 2018 and 2023, a survey by the Federal Criminal Police Office showed what challenges emergency services have to overcome on the streets. The data presents disturbing statistics about the increasing number of attacks on such services. Loud Statista More and more rescue workers are experiencing situations in which they are confronted not only with health risks but also with physical violence.

The events surrounding André R. shed light on the urgent need to address the issue of violence against emergency services and to pay more attention to how such incidents can be prevented.

In any case, the court's decision is eagerly awaited; Public debate about this case and the issues surrounding it will certainly continue.