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| Europe |
| U.S. Soldier Is Shot in Germany |
| 2003-02-03 |
| A U.S. soldier was seriously wounded by gunfire in southern Germany, police said Monday. Police said they had no leads on who fired the shots or the motive for the early morning attack on the 26-year-old soldier. The soldier was shot after he pulled his car off the road to clean ice from his windshield on the way to the barracks in Schweinfurt, police said. Looking for more details. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 Haul Gerhard Shroeder in for questioning--he HATES Americans! |
| Posted by: JDB 2003-02-03 22:49:58 |
| #6 More details, let's look at this like a CSI episode, shall we? A U.S. soldier was seriously wounded by gunfire early Monday after he pulled his car off the road in southern Germany to clean ice from the windshield, police said. Now why didn't he scrape the ice off before he started driving? The 26-year-old private first class from the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division was wearing civilian clothes when he was shot in the left hand and leg on his way to the barracks in Schweinfurt. Early Monday morning going back to the barracks in civilian clothes, stayed out late on Sunday night? Police said they were focusing on a personal motive, after both German investigators and U.S. military officials said there were no indications of a terror attack. "It looks like a criminal act," police spokesman Dieter Klein said. "We're tending to look at (the soldier's) personal relationships." Uh huh. The shooting took place around 5 a.m. about three miles from the Schweinfurt barracks, where the 2nd Brigade of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division is stationed. The soldier was able to drive despite being wounded, and was in stable condition after undergoing surgery, 1st Infantry spokesman Maj. Mark Ballesteros said. Earlier, the soldier's unit had said he was released from the hospital Monday evening. Ballesteros declined to give further details, including the soldier's identity. Police said they would question him Tuesday. The soldier was driving a Ford Mustang with U.S. military license plates that closely resemble German plates, except for small NATO and U.S. symbols. The U.S. military replaced more distinctive plates in 2000 out of concerns for force protection, said Alison Bettencourt, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Europe in Heidelberg. Then why did you put the NATO and US symbols on them? Anyway, our PFC has to jump in his car and leave in a hurry, not stopping to clean his windshield. Gets away down the road to where he thinks it's safe to stop, pulls over and gets out to clean off the windshield. Then gets shot, jumps back in his car and takes off. My guess, someone's husband came home, our PFC put his pants on and ran, husband grabs gun and follows him, husband sees our hero stopped on the side of the road, pulls up and takes his shot. Hero gets your typical flesh wound and drives off. Husband goes home to smack the wife. Comments? |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-02-03 15:21:36 |
| #5 Part of the problem is that the command in Germany keeps on insisting that the civilian vehicles driven by our servicemembers have distinctive plates. No matter how much this problem is hammered into to them, some Staff Wiennie[tm] always underminds the will to shift all the personally owned vehicles [pov] to local looking identifications. One big "KICK ME" plainly marked on the vehicle. |
| Posted by: Don 2003-02-03 11:54:23 |
| #4 UPDATE: The 26-year-old soldier from the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry was wearing civilian clothes when he was shot in the left hand and leg on his way to the barracks in Schweinfurt, 60 miles east of Frankfurt, Schweinfurt police spokesman Karl-Heinz Schmitt said in a statement. The soldier was able to drive despite being wounded and later underwent surgery, the statement said. The injuries were not life-threatening. Police said they had no leads on who fired the shots or the motive for the attack, which happened around 5 a.m. They appealed for witnesses. A spokesman for the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry confirmed the incident but declined to give any further details, including the soldier's identity. The incident was under investigation. Police said they would not be able to question the soldier until Tuesday because of his injuries. I don't think I have heard of any attacks on american troops in Germany since the Bader Mienhof Gang were running around. Of course, it could be as simple as a jealous boyfriend. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-02-03 11:04:25 |
| #3 Mines gone... The shooting's unusual. I can't recall hearing of the Fritzies potting Americans along the road. I wonder if there's a turban involved, or if it's the Deutschland über Alles set? Or did the Werewolves finally kick in? |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-02-03 10:45:31 |
| #2 Some mornings I just can't keep up with you, Fred. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-02-03 10:17:48 |
| #1 Part of the problem is that the command in Germany keeps on insisting that the civilian vehicles driven by our servicemembers have distinctive plates. No matter how much this problem is hammered into to them, some Staff Wiennie[tm] always underminds the will to shift all the personally owned vehicles [pov] to local looking identifications. One big "KICK ME" plainly marked on the vehicle. |
| Posted by: Don 2/3/2003 11:54:23 AM |