Germany ups police presence at mosques over 'very high' security threat

Germany has increased police presence across the country, and at mosques in particular, as part of efforts to counter the "very high" security threat from far-right extremists in the wake of the recent racist attack.

"The security threat from right-wing extremism and racism is very high," German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said at a press conference in Berlin on Friday, also announcing an "increased police presence" at mosques, train stations, airports and borders.

Late on Wednesday, a gunman opened fire outside a bar in the Heumarkt district in the western German city of Hanau and then drove off to a second location in the Kesselstadt district, where he opened fire again, killing a total of nine people and injuring several others.

The victims were reported to have been young members of the country’s minority Turkish community who have been targeted due to rising Islamophobia inside Germany.

The suspect was a 43-year-old German citizen from Hanau and together with his 72-year-old mother was found dead at his home in the early hours of Thursday morning.

According to the German newspaper Bild, he left behind a letter of confession and a video claiming responsibility in which he expressed extreme right-wing views.

Condemning the “poison” of racism, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel sent her condolences to the families of the victims and said she mourned with them.

During a vigil for the victims of the deadly shootings, thousands of Germans gathered in Hanau and censured crimes perpetrated by far-right extremists in the country by shouting “Nazis out.”

SS