Arrest in Mallorca: Perpetrators of the Cologne attack finally caught!

Arrest in Mallorca: Perpetrators of the Cologne attack finally caught!

A brutal attack on a pet supply store in Cologne-Poll caused a stir. The crime occurred on June 17, 2024 at around 6 p.m. when two men entered the store on Siegburger Strasse and immediately threatened a 22-year-old employee with a firearm. To intimidate the young man, he was pushed into the back room and forced to open the safe. The threat left him with minor injuries from blows to the face. Fortunately, a courageous customer noticed what was happening and unnoticed alerted the police, which ultimately led to a manhunt.

As Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reports, the investigators managed to arrest a 32-year-old accomplice near the crime scene on the evening of the attack. The loot was seized while the person primarily responsible, a 28-year-old man, was initially able to escape. But this turned out to be temporary: he was finally arrested in Mallorca on October 1, 2024 after a European arrest warrant was issued against him.

Current status of the investigation

The 28-year-old suspect is now being requested by the public prosecutor to be extradited to Germany, a complicated case legally and logistically. His accomplice, the 32-year-old, remains in custody and is awaiting further proceedings. Interestingly, this case could be viewed in the context of the general development of crime in Germany. Current figures show that the police crime statistics (PKS) recorded a decrease in crimes of 1.7% to around 5.84 million cases in 2024. However, perceptions of crime remain high, particularly crimes that affect citizens' sense of security.

According to Presseportal, crimes that affect people's sense of security have particularly increased. The number of cases of theft and bodily harm is worrying and is at a high level. In North Rhine-Westphalia, and therefore also in Cologne, crime figures are traditionally higher, which is even more concerning in view of such attacks.

Relationship between investigations and reality

Important statistics from Statista show that more and more non-German suspects are being held in Germany and that the clearance rate is around 58%. This number shows how complicated it is to process violent crimes, which are increasingly coming into the public eye. In the case of the attack in Cologne-Poll, the police's quick response and the customer's courageous reaction prevented anything worse from happening.

The events surrounding the attack and the follow-up measures show that the issue of crime continues to be close to the hearts of Cologne residents, not least through the next story of the arrest and the judicial processes.