Turkey demands thorough probe on German shootings

By Davut Demircan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey demands a thorough investigation and heavy penalties for all perpetrators of Wednesday shootings in the western German town of Hanau, said Turkey’s communications director on Thursday.

“The attacks in Hanau reveal the extent the rising racism, Islamophobia and far-right tendencies in Europe have reached,” said Fahrettin Altun on Twitter.

The shootings at two cafes in Hanau, near Frankfurt, killed at least nine people, including possibly Turkish immigrants, though this has yet to be confirmed.

Altun condemned the attacks and extended condolences to the victims' families in the shootings.

“We hope that this racist-based violent spiral we often encounter in Europe will come to an end. We demand the Hanau attack investigation be carried out meticulously and that all perpetrators of the attack be captured and punished in the harshest way,” he added.

Thursday German police said they were treating the case as a “terrorist” attack with "xenophobic motives".

The apparent perpetrator, a far-right extremist identified as Tobias R., 43, and one other person were found dead in an apartment in Hanau, following a German special operations raid, German daily Bild reported.

Hanau is located around 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Frankfurt and has a population of nearly 100,000.