Shocked shots in Göppingen: 18-year-old turns himself in to the police!

Shocked shots in Göppingen: 18-year-old turns himself in to the police!

In Göppingen yesterday, an 18-year-old shot into the air with a blank gun, which led to an intensive police operation. The shots were fired near a gas station around 5 p.m., and numerous witnesses immediately alerted the police. They found two cartridge cases on site that came from the blank gun. That's what they report ZVW.

The young man initially fled unrecognized, but the police were later able to identify him using video recordings. Despite the extensive police operation, in which up to 40 officers from the heavily armed evidence and arrest unit were deployed, the weapon was not found on him or in his apartment. The 18-year-old then turned himself in at the Göppingen police station early in the morning and was presumably in a psychological state of emergency, which led to him being admitted to a clinic.

Mental illness and police operations

The incidents surrounding police operations and mental illness shed light on a far-reaching problem. A study from Baden-Württemberg from 2021 shows that police officers assess over 18 percent of their contacts as mentally ill. Common causes for this are addictions, depression and schizophrenia. Mentally ill people are often victims of police shootings because their behavior is difficult to predict Bavarian state newspaper reported.

In the past ten years, 14 people have died from police firearms in Baden-Württemberg, including five with mental illnesses. These people were often under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the killing. Between 2012 and 2021, 46 people were injured in Bavaria due to the use of firearms. However, there is no comprehensive record of the mental illnesses of those affected.

Police training and action strategies

In order to better deal with such situations, police training focuses intensively on dealing with people in exceptional psychological situations. This topic is part of the course for the third qualification level in the police service at the University for the Public Service in Bavaria. In addition, further training in the police focuses on dealing with aggressive people in such exceptional situations.

The Bavarian Police's negotiating groups are regularly deployed to intervene through de-escalating discussions. Psychologists are also called in to provide specialist advice to the negotiating groups in order to ensure the safety of everyone involved.