Gang war in Altbach: Violence at funeral service escalates dramatically!

Gang war in Altbach: Violence at funeral service escalates dramatically!

In Altbach, a town in the Esslingen district, a funeral service two years ago resulted in a terrible hand grenade attack. The suspected perpetrator, a 23-year-old, threw a hand grenade into the crowd during the ceremony, injuring at least 15 people. The incident is considered one of the highlights of an ongoing series of violence that occurs in the context of a gang war in the Stuttgart area. The trial surrounding the events has now occupied the judiciary for two years, with the security authorities having to step up their action against organized crime. As Schwäbische.de reports, the hand grenade thrower was chased by mourners after his attack, dragged out of a taxi and seriously injured.

Three years after the attack, the courts have already handed down several verdicts against around ten defendants. A man was recently sentenced to five years in prison for attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. Together with other perpetrators, he was involved in the severe beating of the hand grenade thrower after he had carried out a devastating attack on the mourning community. Already in April, five other men were sentenced to sentences ranging from just over three years to almost five years, which were also directly related to the violent acts. In June 2023, there was a life-threatening attack on an opponent out of revenge, which further resulted in a changed climate of violence in the region, as SWR.de points out.

A striking picture of organized crime

The violence and serious crimes in the region are part of a larger organized crime phenomenon in Germany, which caused damage worth 2.7 billion euros in 2023. This represents a dramatic increase compared to 2022, where the damage was only 1.3 billion euros. The report by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) shows that the increase is not only fueled by drug trafficking, but also by a high level of violence to enforce one's own interests. According to [ZDF.de](https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/deutschland/organisierte-kritikaet-banden-bka- Schaden-milliarden-100.html), 642 proceedings against organized crime took place last year, which represents a slight increase compared to 639 proceedings in the previous year.

The action of the hand grenade thrower is advertised in this context because he belongs to a gang that is active in the Stuttgart region and is in conflict with another group. The security authorities are challenged because investigations into gang crime and violent clashes are becoming increasingly complex. Most of the perpetrators are not only implicated in the current violence, but also operate in a wide-ranging network that is regularly involved in criminal activity.