Weeping, the mother of the man (21) who was shot pointed at the accused and said: ” How can you not be ashamed? You are too cowardly to look me in the eye. But I have to live with you walking around free, living, while my only son has no future.”
An hour later, the court handed down its verdict on Monday: acquittal and 17,100 euros in compensation for the convicted Anas N. (21), who killed Eryk Klein (21) with a shot to the stomach at Dortmund’s Westpark.
“The findings in the main hearing have shown: The accused acted in self-defence,” said judge Thomas Kelm (61).
On June 12, 2021, two groups got into a fight – why remained unclear until the end. Anas N. punched an acquaintance (21) of the victim, the situation escalated, someone sprayed pepper spray.
Then Anas raced home with a rental scooter and got the sharp weapon, according to witnesses he even bragged about it, shouting “I’ll get him!
Suddenly, Eryk Klein smashed a beer bottle on the floor and ran towards Anas with the sharp end. The latter shouted “Hey” and fired from a few metres away. The bullet pierced the abdominal wall, hit an artery, the stomach and a lumbar vertebra. Eryk bled to death at the scene.
Siegmund Benecken (79), who defended the shooter, said: “Everyone can understand the desperate mother. But as bitter as it may be for her, it was self-defence, there is no doubt about that.”
Senior public prosecutor Carsten Dombert (58) had also called for acquittal at the end of the trial. Judge Kelm: “A smashed bottle is a deadly weapon. It cannot be refuted that the accused wanted to ward off the attack with it.”
Gesine Ickert (43), representing the plaintiff’s side, had demanded nine years for manslaughter: “The defendant should have fired a warning shot. He was more than 20 metres away when Eryk knocked the neck off the bottle.”
Her client Aldona Klein no longer gets it. The mother told the newspaper BILD: “You are not allowed to own the gun, but you can shoot someone with it. The shooter had a criminal record and was on probation. What is wrong with our legal system?
In fact, getting the gun for Anas N. still has an aftermath. A new indictment is being prepared. In a new trial, he could even face imprisonment. He said: “I am very sorry about what happened.”
After the trial, patrol cars had driven up to the court. They were afraid that friends of the victim would attack Anas N., who had been acquitted. Prosecutor Dombert warned: “If something happens, they will get into trouble. This cannot be about revenge.”