Shots fired at buses in Garching

Shots were fired at three buses in Garching yesterday evening. The first attack took place around 18:45, when an unknown person shot at two passing buses on the routes 219A and 294 in Garching-Hochbrueck, shattering several windows of the buses. About an hour and a half later, a 290 bus was attacked at Professor-Angermair-Ring in Garching, again shattering the windows. Very luckily, no-one was injured, but the bus company took the precaution of cancelling the services for the rest of the evening. Police think the shots may have been fired by an airgun or catapult, rather than a more lethal firearm. Still, potentially dangerous and not funny if you're in the bus and the window next to you gets smashed.

Press reports:
Sueddeutsche Zeitung
TZ (more detailed report)

Germany better hurry up and ban violent video games before it's too late!

This was anounced on the radio yesterday as a "Betriebsstörung". I was wondering what the hell could go wrong with all the buses.

They should have someone with a big mean dog controll the area.
;-)

Thats actually kind of scary.

Sure is, especially if you happen to live or work in Garching. OK, so Garching isn't exactly Baghdad, but if I hear about a sniper shooting at a bus in Baghdad, at least I know it isn't me who's going to get killed. (Yeah, selfish, I know.) Hope they don't start taking pot-shots at the U-Bahn next.

Good thing the 290 isn't used much anymore now that the ubahn's open.

Damn, that's scary.
But would an air-rifle have enough power to shattle a bus window? I doubt it

I think it would have to be close range if it was an air rifle or catapult.

There are some powerful air rifles out there though. If the hunting ammunition is used (which consists of a plastic pellet with a metal head) then it could certainly do damage at close range.

Damned right.


Dunno, but a catapult would do it no trouble atall. If they are looking for somebody with a catapult though, I'd best stop carrying mine about I suppose.

Is that psycho still loose? The guy who said he was gonna go on the rampage recently.

Thats was meant cynically right?

This inicident is really scary. We used to take that bus every single day for going to TU. Luckily this happened close to Garching and not close to the research center in Ingoldstadtstr. where the bus is still really packed.

I'd bet a few quid that it was probably just kids messing about. I hate kids. They're small, and rubbish.

More info in today's TZ (article in German).

Apparently these attacks weren't the first. The owner of the bus company says someone took a shot at one of his buses and smashed a window on Dec 1st, and there was a similar incident back in the summer.

The first two shots last Wednesday were fired in the area near the bus stop Carl-von-Linde-Strasse shortly before 7 p.m., and the third just before 8 p.m., at Professor-Angermaier-Ring according to the news article, or as the bus was turning from Breslauer Strasse into Auweg according to an interview with the bus driver. Police ask anyone who witnessed anything suspicious to call them on 089/29100.