Reactions To Germany's Movie Theater Shooting Reveal Fear & Frustration
UPDATE: The Associated Press and Reuters reports no serious injuries during the movie theater incident in Viernheim, Germany. The gunman, who took theater-goers hostage, has been killed by police, according to authorities.
On Thursday in Viernheim, a shooting took place at a movie theater in Germany, and thankfully no serious injuries have been reported. The attack is just the most recent in the latest wave of devastation to sweep across the world, and the reactions to Germany's movie theater shooting show a mix of horror, terror, frustration, and sadness, both for the shooting and for the world at large. According to CNN who spoke with authorities on the scene, the shooter entered the Viernheim cinema "apparently heavily armed" just after 3 p.m. Reporting on the ground for CNN, Atika Shubert said, "The possibility this could be a terror attack is crossing the minds of people here in Germany," however, that has yet to be confirmed by police investigating at the scene.
Though details are still trickling in, an early report from Bild, a German newspaper, and translated by TIME, indicates that the gunman "fired his gun into the air and had ammunition around his shoulder." At this time, however, no serious injuries have been reported. Germany has one of the most strict gun control policies in Europe, the Library of Congress notes. The country restricts the carrying, buying, and possession of firearms only to those with a creditable need for a weapon. Automatic weapons are completely banned in Germany and accessibility to other types of weapons is incredibly difficult as well. After a deadly shooting in Winnenden in 2009 where an 18 year old killed 15 people during a school shooting, Germany passed another gun control reform, allowing for the creation of a federal gun register. It also allowed the government to closely monitor gun owners' compliance with new laws, according to the Library of Congress.
The reactions to the shooting, which thankfully has claimed no life-threatening injuries or victims, just how eager the world is for change.
