On September 18, 2021, a fatal attack with a firearm on the 20-year-old employee of a gas station was carried out in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. The perpetrator, a 49-year-old man, had been requested by the employee to wear his surgical mask as mandated by the German government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The shooting received a lot of public attention and was related by some to the increasing radicalization of the so-called Querdenken movement[1][2][3] or to the recent rise of right-wing conspiracy theories, while criminal psychologists pointed to the possibility that the shooter may have been driven by personal or psychological problems.[4] In September 2022, the perpetrator was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in jail;[5] both prosecution and defence lodged appeals against the verdict.[6]
- ^ Oltermann, Philip (21 September 2021). "Petrol station worker killed in Germany after face mask row". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ "Man suspected of killing petrol station cashier after face mask row". Euronews. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ "Petrol station worker in Germany killed after asking customer to wear mask". TheJournal.ie. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Man sentenced to life in jail over COVID face mask murder". Deutsche Welle. 13 September 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ "Mord an Tankstelle in Idar-Oberstein: Auch Verteidigung geht in Revision". SWR (in German). 16 September 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.