Germany: Hobby Hunters at the End of the Line

It is a dark, desolate place that the 64-year-old chose for the murder of his son, his own death, and that of the family dog.

The disused industrial site near a former concrete factory covered in graffiti in Itzehoe. This is where the terrible family tragedy unfolded.

It is 0:45 a.m. when Karl-Heinrich R. calls the police emergency line: he says he has shot his son Norman (15) and will now take his own life.

Officers rush to the scene immediately, but when they arrive, they are met with a devastating sight: beside the car they find the bodies of the man, the teenager, and the Jack Russell Terrier. The rain water has been turned red by the blood of the victims.

«The background to the act is likely to lie within the family sphere. Father and son had a residence in the Schenefeld administrative area. The mother lives separately from the family», according to a police spokesperson.

Read here a selection of reports on fatalities caused by hunting accidents and criminal acts involving hunters’ weapons in Germany:

The reports you are about to read were compiled on the basis of available press coverage. This may, on the one hand, give rise to inaccuracies, and on the other, can never capture every case. The list therefore makes no claim to completeness — particularly in cases of family tragedies, it is rarely made public where the perpetrator obtained the firearm, or whether they were a hobby hunter or sport shooter.

Chronicle of Hunting Accidents and Criminal Acts 2019

17.12.19: Hobby hunter shoots son, dog, and himself

A 64-year-old hobby hunter in Itzehoe first shot his 15-year-old son and the family dog, a Jack Russell Terrier, with a rifle. He then shot himself.

At 0:45 a.m., the hobby hunter had called the police: he said he had shot his son Norman and would now take his own life. When the officers arrived at the scene, they found the bodies of the teenager, the dog, and the 64-year-old hobby hunter. Police are treating it as a family tragedy. (Bild, 17.12.2019)

22.11.19: Hunting accident: 80-year-old seriously injured

During a hunt in the Berchtesgadener Land, an 80-year-old hobby hunter was seriously injured. The elderly man was searching for a shot animal when he slipped and fell 50 metres into the depths. The mountain rescue service had to save him in what was described as a “complex operation.” (tz München, 22.11.2019)

19.11.19: Female hobby hunter seriously injured by wild boar

During a hunt in the Lüneburg Heath, a 33-year-old female hobby hunter was seriously injured. The woman's hunting dog had cornered a wild boar. When the hobby hunter followed her dog into a dense young fir plantation, she was attacked and seriously injured by the wild boar. A rescue helicopter had to be called. (BILD, 19.11.2019)

15.11.19: Three dead in family tragedy

Three dead in a family tragedy in Wülfrath, North Rhine-Westphalia: On 7.11.2019, a 60-year-old man shot his 57-year-old wife, his 87-year-old mother, and the dog. Four days later, he took his own life. The firearm was found in the house. Whether the man was a hobby hunter or a sport shooter was not disclosed. (BILD, 15.11.2019)

Weapons and negligent behaviour

13.11.19: Home-made ammunition: hobby hunter injured

While making ammunition, a 59-year-old hobby hunter in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district was so seriously injured that he had to be taken to hospital. A detonating device suddenly exploded, injuring the hobby hunter in the abdomen and chest. The hobby hunter had been assembling the ammunition at home, which, according to police, he was legally permitted to do. (dpa, 13.11.2019)

8.11.19: Driven hunt: bullets hit a house

In the worst case, it could have been fatal: when hobby hunters organised a driven hunt in the Weilerer Wald (Rhein-Hunsrück district), two projectiles struck a residential building in Boppard-Weiler. (Rhein-Hunsrück-Zeitung, 9.11.2019)

3.11.19: Jogger shot in the forest

In the Heidekreis district, a jogger was shot and wounded in the leg while on a publicly accessible forest path. A hobby hunter had fired at him with a shotgun during an ongoing driven hunt. (Hannoversche Allgemeine, 3.11.2019)

4.10.19: Hobby hunter shoots horse instead of wild boar

A 65-year-old hobby hunter shot an Icelandic horse in a paddock in the Lower Saxon Heidekreis district, having mistaken it for a wild boar. It was said to have been nearly dark at the time. “What if a person had been standing there?” asked the horse's owner. (Hannoversche Allgemeine, 4.10.2019)

27.9.19: 74-year-old hobby hunter shoots friend in the head

A 74-year-old hobby hunter intended to shoot a fallow deer in a game enclosure in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. To do so, he braced his hunting rifle on the roof of his car. The shot pierced the vehicle's roof, striking a 60-year-old sitting in the passenger seat in the head and seriously injuring him. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 27.9.2019)

Cases of mistaken identity and stray shots

23.9.19: Seriously injured in hunting accident

A 72-year-old hobby hunter accidentally shot himself in the foot near Paderborn while loading his hunting rifle, sustaining serious injuries. (Kreispolizeibehörde Paderborn, 23.9.2019)

19.9.19: Bullet hits farmer instead of wild boar

During the maize harvest in Gündelbach in Swabia, a 25-year-old man and an 18-year-old harvest worker were sitting on a tractor when two hobby hunters fired at a wild boar. A bullet shattered the tractor's windscreen. The young man was struck in the lower leg and had to be airlifted to hospital. The harvest worker was injured by glass fragments. (Stuttgarter Zeitung, 17.9.2019)

6.9.19: Rifle explodes: hobby hunter seriously injured

A serious hunting accident occurred during a driven hunt in the Saarlouis district: a 55-year-old was about to shoot at a wild boar when his hunting rifle exploded upon firing, leaving the hobby hunter with severe injuries to his face and hands. (Rheinpfalz, 6.9.2019)

2.9.19: Hobby hunter shoots foal instead of wild boar

In North Rhine-Westphalia, a hobby hunter shot and killed a foal. The owner found the foal dead in the morning in a paddock in Blankenheim, approximately 70 metres from a hunting blind. The hobby hunter told police that he had fired at a wild boar. (Radio RPR1, 2.9.2019)

18.8.19: 82-year-old hobby hunter shoots 76-year-old

Hunting accident in the Eifel: An 82-year-old hobby hunter accidentally shot and seriously injured a 76-year-old fellow hunter. (Kölnische Rundschau, 18.8.2019)

4.7.19: 71-year-old shoots woman then kills himself

A 71-year-old man in the district of Aurich (Lower Saxony) first attempted to shoot his 38-year-old partner, then shot himself. The woman was taken to hospital with life-threatening head injuries. (Emder Zeitung, 4.7.2019)

17.8.19: Hobby hunter accidentally shoots horse

An Icelandic horse was accidentally shot during a hunt on a paddock in Weiskirchen (Saarland) and so severely injured that it had to be put down. (Breaking News Saarland, 17.8.2019)

21.4.19: Police shoot armed hobby hunter

A police officer in Bochum shot a 77-year-old hobby hunter who had threatened him with his hunting rifle. The man later succumbed to his injuries. A witness had called the police because a man was wandering through the cemetery with what appeared to be a loaded firearm. (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 24.4.2019)

25.3.19: Negligent bodily harm

During a large group hunt with around 150 hobby hunters in the Harz region, a shot fired by a 48-year-old hunter accidentally struck a 67-year-old fellow hunter, who was taken to hospital by ambulance. (Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, 25.3.2019)

1.2.19: Hobby hunter barricades himself with firearms

A 78-year-old hobby hunter who possessed several firearms barricaded himself in his apartment, prompting a large-scale police operation in Iphofen: parts of the town centre were cordoned off and a special operations unit was deployed. The situation apparently arose from a threatening incident linked to family problems. (FOCUS online, 1.2.2019)

25.1.19: Hobby hunter accidentally shoots his daughter

A hobby hunter from Karlsruhe shot and killed his 19-year-old daughter in their own home. The 56-year-old man was about to leave for a hunt when his rifle discharged and struck his daughter. (Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, 25.1.2019)

22.1.19: Hobby hunter hit instead of deer

During a driven hunt in Saxony-Anhalt, a hobby hunter was struck and injured in the upper body. A fellow hunter had fired at a deer. (Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, 22.1.2019)

More on this in the dossier: Psychology of Hunting