Hanau shootings

The Hanau shootings were a far-right terrorist attack in Germany on 19 February 2020. A gunman killed nine people with migrant backgrounds, then killed his mother and himself.

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Heumarkt shootings: A shooting at a shisha bar near Hanau’s central square on 19 February 2020, part of the Hanau terrorist attack. The first site of the attack, where the gunman killed three people.
Tobias Rathjen: The far-right terrorist who carried out the Hanau shootings and then killed his mother and himself. His actions and writings are central to understanding how the attack was planned.
Hanau Initiative 19 February: A civic initiative formed by relatives of victims and supporters to pursue remembrance and political accountability after the Hanau attack. It has pressed authorities to address unanswered questions and institutional failures.
NSU murders: A series of racist murders committed by the German neo-Nazi terrorist group National Socialist Underground between 2000 and 2007. The cases expose earlier failures to recognize far-right motives in attacks on people with migrant backgrounds.
Kurt-Schumacher-Platz shootings: A shooting at a shisha bar in Hanau’s Kesselstadt district on 19 February 2020, part of the Hanau terrorist attack. The second site, where the gunman killed five people.
Far-right terrorism: Political violence motivated by far-right ideologies such as racial supremacy, ultranationalism, or authoritarianism. The attack is classified as far-right terrorism because of its racist motive.
Federal criminal investigation into the Hanau attack: The investigation by German federal authorities into the 2020 Hanau terrorist attack and its perpetrator. Its findings and limits became part of disputes over whether warning signs were missed.
Halle synagogue shooting: A far-right terrorist attack in Halle, Germany, on 9 October 2019, targeting a synagogue and nearby businesses. It preceded Hanau and showed the threat posed by online-radicalized attackers.
Fatih Saraçoğlu: A Turkish-German man killed in the Hanau shootings at the Arena Bar. He was among the victims at the second attack site.
Racism in Germany: Discrimination and racialized hostility experienced by people and communities in Germany. The perpetrator’s rhetoric targeted people he racialized as outsiders.