Autobahn Sniper Shot 762 Vehicles

A German truck driver has the worst documented case of road rage in history.

A German truck driver has the worst documented case of road rage in history.

The Guardian (“Autobahn sniper admits more than 700 road rage shootings in Germany“):

A German lorry driver has admitted responsibility for hundreds of motorway shootings over the past five years, citing road rage as the cause.

The 57-year-old is said by police to be responsible for at least 762 shootings of other vehicles from his lorry. He is said to have had particular disdain for car transporters.

The man was arrested at his home in the Eifel region of south-west Germany early on Sunday morning. Police said he had a stash of weapons and 1,300 rounds of ammunition.

Jörg Ziercke, the president of the federal criminal police office of Germany, said the man had described his attacks as having been prompted by “annoyance and frustration at traffic”.

Ziercke called the case “unique in criminal history”.

The driver worked for an Eifel delivery company for 12 years. Police described him as “extremely unscrupulous” and at ease with the idea of injuring or even killing his victims. Miraculously only a handful were hurt in the attacks, including one who was hit in the neck, and another who drove their car into a crash barrier after swerving off the road.

Germany has no specific phrase for road rage, so the English phrase, which originated in the US in the late 1980s, is often used to describe the angry or aggressive behaviour of a motorist on the road.

While I can relate to the sniper’s frustrations, I think we can all agree he went a wee bit overboard. Thankfully, he’s not a great shot.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. OzarkHillbilly says:

    Thankfully, he’s not a great shot.

    That’s what expanded magazines are for.

  2. al-Ameda says:

    Germany has no specific phrase for road rage

    wut im strassenvehrkehr