Merkel slams ‘poison’ of racism after nine killed

HANAU, Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the "poison" of racism Thursday after a shooter with suspected far-right beliefs killed nine people at a shisha bar and a cafe here. The suspect, identified as 43-year-old German Tobias R., was found dead at his home following an hours-long manhunt. The body of his 72-year-old mother was also found at the flat in what appeared to be a murder-suicide.

Federal counter-terror prosecutors said they suspected "a xenophobic motive" behind the shootings, the latest deadly attack blamed on the far right in Germany. "Racism is a poison, hatred is a poison and this poison exists in our society and it is already to blame for far too many crimes," Merkel said in Berlin. The suspect left behind online a "manifesto" and video material suggesting "a hostile attitude to foreigners", said Peter Beuth, the interior minister of the state of Hesse.

Among the dead were "several victims of Kurdish origin", the Kon-Med association of Kurds in Germany said in a statement, adding that it was "furious" that authorities were not doing more to combat rising extremism.

The rampage started at around 10:00 pm (2100 GMT) Wednesday at the Midnight shisha bar in central Hanau, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Frankfurt.

The gunman reportedly rang the doorbell and then shot at people in the smoking section, mass-market daily Bild said. He fled the scene by car before opening fire at the Arena Bar & Cafe, with witnesses reporting hearing a dozen shots. A total of nine people were killed, police said, and several were injured.