Advertisement

Police scramble after toy gun spotted at Merkel rally

DDP/DPA/The Local
DDP/DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Police scramble after toy gun spotted at Merkel rally
Photo: DPA

Three people were arrested after a woman holding what appears to have been a cap gun in an apartment window sparked a police operation during a North Rhine-Westphalia campaign speech by Angela Merkel on Wednesday night.

Advertisement

Merkel was addressing a crowd of about 3,000 CDU supporters on the Johannes Rau Platz in the town of Wuppertal when federal police officers noticed two women in a nearby window, one of whom was holding a “suspect object,” police said in statement.

They surrounded the apartment and nabbed the five people – two men and three women – as they tried to leave, police chief Michael Bartsch told daily Bild.

The police officers searched the apartment and found two toy “cap” guns. They arrested two men and a woman. The men were later released but the woman was held because she had an outstanding arrest warrant for another matter.

Neither Merkel nor North Rhine-Westphalian state premier Jürgen Rüttgers, on whose behalf the chancellor was campaigning, were aware of the incident as it was unfolding, police said.

“Everything went calmly and came to a peaceful conclusion,” a police spokesman said.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also