Bernd W. (51): Trier driving a madman was a loner who lived in an SUV

A terrorist attack or politically motivated act seems to be ruled out: German authorities have no evidence of a political background for the Trier incident with at least four dead and several injured. The driver of the car who has surprised several people in the pedestrian zone is therefore not classified as a hazard.

However, the driver was very specific about his victims. Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Roger Lewentz said in a press conference on Tuesday evening: “The zigzag lines were chosen specifically to search for people and hurt them.”

According to “Focus”, the alleged gunman is 51-year-old Bernd W. Neighbors had identified the man based on the license plate number of his SUV. A witness also said he recognized Bernd W.’s shoes in the arrest photo. “That’s why I know it was him – definitely.”

A neighbor who has watched young Bernd W. grow up for years describes him as a “strange individual”. “But I often heard him scream when there was an argument at home. He was short-tempered, at times aggressive, ”the witness said. Another woman said, “He was weird, but I wouldn’t have believed him.”

After selling his parents’ house, W. moved out of the Trier-Saarburg district. Several people who knew him said he had moved home and worked as an electrician. W. was recently unemployed and living in his silver SUV.

He had a girlfriend who was much older than him. “He lived all day and drank. That was his life, ”described a local resident. Within a year W. had spent all the money from the sale of the house.

Bernd W. is also rumored to have had a drink at the kebab shop in his home community on Tuesday. “He drank with his doner kebab gear. He tore himself off, jumped into his car and went to Trier, “an acquaintance told” Focus “.

It is not yet clear whether W. had psychological problems. Residents in nearby Zewen claim, however, that the 51-year-old had an “unstable personality”. “He has been beaten by his father since childhood and this has not escaped him.”

Shortly before his rampage, W. posted a goodbye saying on Facebook: “My tombstone should read: save tears, where were you when I was alive?”

The shock in the German city of Trier is profound on Tuesday evening. During Bernd Ws’ rampage, four people were killed, including a nine-month-old baby. Trier Mayor Wolfram Leibe said: “It is the blackest day in Trier since the Second World War”.

The gunman hit people with an SUV and hit them. Leibe: «I just walked downtown and it was terrible. It was a horror show. There’s a sneaker there … the girl accompanying them is dead. “

Lord Mayor Leibe thanked the emergency services. There were about 700 helpers in action after the fatal trip to central Trier, he said. It is not obvious that the offender can be caught after a few minutes.

An eyewitness told Focus: “I saw countless people jumping to the side, over 30 people lying in the street, some of them motionless. The car drove at a speed of between 70 and 80 kilometers per hour. The city center was very busy. From behind it looked like an SUV, it could have been a jeep. ”Another passerby said the car also captured the children.