Turkish citizens were the victims of the murderous attack that took place this morning at a Mercedes factory near Stuttgart, while the attacker was also a Turk of Kurdish origin and a political opponent of President Tayyip Erdogan, according to information from police circles cited by Die Welt newspaper. . It remains unclear, however, whether his act was politically motivated.

The three men worked for logistics services company Rhenus Automotive, which works with Mercedes. Murat D., 53, “unloaded the gun”, according to eyewitnesses, at 44-year-olds Ayhan B. and Etskan K., before stopping without resistance from the building’s security. A short time later, strong police forces, rescue crews and two helicopters arrived at the scene. Specialist psychologists took over the support of eyewitnesses, many of whom were in a state of shock.

The incident happened at Factory 56, the production unit of Mercedes’ flagship model, the S-Class, which will remain out of business until the end of the week. “Our thoughts are with the victims, their relatives and their colleagues,” the company announced and stressed that it could not confirm rumors of a fight in connection with the upcoming elections in Turkey. The police reported the same.

The Mercedes car manufacturer, which employs more than 35,000 workers in the wider region, also announced that it is studying the possibility of upgrading the safety conditions at its facilities, where, however, as pointed out, hundreds of trucks and cars from external partners arrive every day. “The security protocol is constantly reviewed,” the company said, but a thorough check for weapons or other dangerous items, as is done at airports, would be a particularly difficult process.