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Two police officers shot dead during routine traffic patrol in Germany

Police said they are still looking for the suspects, who fled the scene in the district of Kusel, and have asked the public not to pick up any hitchhikers in the area.

Pic: AP
31 January 2022, Rhineland-Palatinate, Kusel: Police officers block the access road to the scene where two police officers were fatally wounded by gunfire during a traffic stop. The fatal shootings occurred during a routine traffic stop, according to police. Photo by: Thomas Frey/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Image: Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward. Pic: AP
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Two police officers have been shot dead during a routine traffic patrol in southwestern Germany.

The shootings happened shortly after 4.20am on District Road 22 in the district of Kusel, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The officers - a 24-year-old woman and 29-year-old man - reported via radio that shots were being fired.

A police car blocks a road after two German police officers were fatally shot early January 31, 2022, during a routine traffic stop near Kusel, southwestern Germany. Police were searching for the suspects, who fled the scene, police in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate said in a statement. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
Image: Officers had been on patrol between between Ulmet and Mayweilerhof in the Kusel district

"After that, the radio connection was lost," said police spokesman Bernhard Christian Erfort.

"So we don't know what happened.

"Officers were dispatched to the site where they found the colleagues, one injured, one dead."

Two arrested

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Two men were later arrested.

One of the suspects, a 38-year-old, will be presented to court in the southwestern city of Kaiserslautern, police said.

They added that he had not given any information.

Another 32-year-old man was detained and police were investigating his involvement in the crime, they added.

Both suspects are Germany citizens, Der Spiegel magazine reported. It added that one of the suspects was a trader of hunted game animals.

Earlier, Mr Erfort said he did not know if the officers had seen something particular about their vehicle that they wanted to check or whether it was just a routine traffic stop.

He did not confirm media rumours that the suspects could have been poachers who were active in the area surrounded by forests and fields.

"For now I have no information on the escape car which is why I can't say whether any game was in the car," he said.

Police have asked the public not to pick up hitchhikers in the district.

31 January 2022, Rhineland-Palatinate, Mayweilerhof: Police officers stand at a barricade on county road 22, about a kilometer from the scene where two police officers were killed by gunfire. The fatal shots were fired during a routine traffic stop, according to police. Photo by: Sebastian Gollnow/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
PIC:AP
Image: Officers standing at a barricade about a kilometre from the scene where the officers were killed. Pic: AP

Killings 'reminiscent of an execution'

District Road 22 was completely closed off in the Mayweilerhof and Ulmet areas and witnesses who noticed something suspicious were urged to contact the Kaiserslautern force.

The female victim was still studying at a police academy, the GdP police union said.

"Regardless of the motive, this crime is reminiscent of an execution and shows that the police risk their lives for our security every day," interior minister Nancy Faeser tweeted.

She said "we will do everything" to catch the perpetrators.