It is a shock on new year’s eve. A German steers his car in the Ruhr area, specifically in a crowd of people – apparently from xenophobia. Now there are speculations about a mental illness of the perpetrator.
In Bottrop, Essen. Several times the 50-year-old German Andreas N. departs targeted foreign-looking groups of people. Eight of the people he hurt, before the police takes in the new year’s eve night. Currently, Andreas N. is sitting in detention. The authorities of a xenophobic motive.
The Hartz IV recipients of food but also mentally ill. It was a cold-blooded planned right-wing extremist act of terrorism, or the rampage of a single offender, whose law has been extremist radicalized tables thoughts through a mental illness?
Clear intention to kill on the night of the new year’s eve
Yet the facts of the situation is manageable. “There was the clear intention of this man to kill foreigners,” said North Rhine-Westphalia Minister of the interior, Herbert Reul, the CDU.
Herbert Reul, the North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of the interior (CDU)
Contacts in the extreme right-wing scene have not had Andreas N., according to recent findings. From a “prejudice -, or hate crimes,” says the sociologist Matthias Quent. The Director of the Institute for democracy and civil society in Jena, Germany, is a specialist in Radicalisation, right-wing extremism and democracy research. In his opinion it was apart, Andreas N. “targeted to a specific status group: People of Color, not white people, which he held for foreigners.”
The message of the fact is clear, concludes Quent. In his interrogation of the alleged perpetrator have said, “that many foreigners are a Problem for Germany, which he wanted to solve. Thus, it is a racist act that has a political Dimension.” Also spread the attack even after the fact, fear and terror in Parts of the population.
Karamba Diaby, integration Commissioner of the SPD
Of a terrorist act, the SPD politician Karamba Diaby talks. On Twitter, the integration expert with an African immigrant writes: “If the motives are racist, we have to use the right words for it. The attack in #Bottrop appears to be politically motivated and is #terrorism.”
Terrorists and amok perpetrators are similar
So clearly the policy of the majority refers to uniform Position, so unclear of the influence that the mental state of the Accuse on the day could have. The “Kölner stadtanzeiger” reported that Andreas N. have been suffering for decades under a schizophrenic disorder. Accordingly, he had lived in the year 2005 temporarily in a closed psychiatric clinic. So, where are the boundaries between Amok and Terror run? It is a xenophobic right-wing terrorist or a misguided mentally ill? Questions that can currently be seriously difficult to answer. Maybe never. Possible merely tentative classifications are currently.
“My Thesis is yet, this is not empirically researched, that a terrorist perpetrators, and amok perpetrators are absolutely similar,” says the criminologist Britta Bannenberg in the DW-interview. Whether the offender had a right extremist or an Islamist motive or whether “the Amok-offender rejects all of the hates, and the whole of society”, is largely based on mental disorders. This individual perpetrators were usually people with little or no social contacts, explains the Professor of the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen.
Britta Bannenberg, a criminologist at the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen
“What make this so: you go to the Internet in exactly these worlds and forums that strengthen their views of hatred and rejection.” The echo chamber effect, so that Enhance existing views through like-minded Users in the social networks, and possible mental illness of fire, dangerous alliances have been received in such cases.
Hate groups projected
For the criminologist Bannenberg first indications show that the behavior of the alleged assassin, Andreas N. was very typical. “We have studied very many of these so-called Amok-acts in Germany. In the case of adult offenders there are interesting abnormalities,” says the researcher. “Really mentally healthy, all of which are not.”
The type of mental disorder is different. “However, we noticed that more than a third of adult offenders were 24 to 70 years, a very serious mental illness in the sense of a paranoid schizophrenia and then, as a rule, strangers have attacked,” says Bannenberg.
According to the research of your chair such offender to the society in General, full of resentment and rejection. They projected their hatred mostly on certain groups, “whether it is foreigners, women, work colleagues or anyone else in society.” A mental disorder within the meaning of schizophrenia is a delusional disorder that could disease-combine elements with hate motives. A third of the adult gunman suffers from a spell of mountain information under this condition.
Schizophrenia and personality disorders
Add to this research, the criminologist are still those who are affected by personality disorders. Such offenders may have a little more insight into what you do, a little more control of assets, “but the focusing is just as fanatical in the idea of a spectacular Tötungsakts.”
Bannenberg advertises for a higher total social attention. Those who show interest, to commit an attack, for Amok deeds and acts of terrorism of interest and full of hate, “makes the rule, many months in advance.” This should be reported to relatives, friends and colleagues at an early stage to the police.
In the case of the Auto-attack of the new year night the authorities can back up only the facts, as well as debt capacity and penalties and negotiate. By then, the question arises again: What is sheer Terror, what is due to a disease?