Faulty cameras?
March 6, 2011
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at Frankfurt Airport were allegedly out of action when a man from Kosovo shot dead two US airmen and wounded two others.
The technical breakdown was reported in German newspaper Die Welt, quoting security sources, in an advance report on Sunday.
The CCTV footage was thought to be crucial in verifying the statements of suspect, 21-year-old Arid Uka.
Uka has been officially charged with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
He is accused of shooting a US serviceman and point-blank range and then entering a US military bus and fatally shooting the driver in the head. An airman and German police caught Uka after his pistol jammed.
Uka told police he was not a member of a terrorist group and acted alone. A Muslim of Kosovan nationality, he said he wanted revenge against the US military for their actions in Afghanistan.
The report in Die Welt said federal prosecutors in charge of the investigation had no comment. An airport spokesperson also declined comment.
The newspaper did quote Wolfgang Bosbach, a security policy spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats as saying that the best surveillance laws were useless if the equipment did not work.
"I hope this prompts checks of the CCTV in high-sensitivity zones," he said, adding that the failure would have been catastrophic if the assailant had escaped.
Meanwhile, Murat Uka, the father of the suspect, was quoted in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper saying he regrets what his son did.
"I'm shocked and completely denounce my son's actions. I'm so sorry!" he told the tabloid.
Author: Catherine Bolsover (dpa/AFP)
Editor: Kyle James