Following the rampage in Leipzig that resulted in two fatalities, the investigating judge at the Leipzig Civil Court ordered the temporary involuntary commitment of the suspect to a psychiatric hospital, at the request of the public prosecutor’s office.
The suspect had been preliminarily detained on Monday by the public prosecutor’s office. Sources reported that due to a medically certified inability to remain detained, he was subsequently moved to a psychiatric hospital until his appearance before the investigating judge.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, preliminary investigations and expert medical opinions have led the investigating judge to conclude that there are “urgent reasons” to believe the suspect committed the act while his criminal responsibility was at least significantly impaired. Consequently, the public prosecutor argued that the court should order his commitment to a psychiatric hospital.
The civil court viewed the temporary involuntary commitment as “necessary for public safety”. It noted that given the current evidence, there is a high probability that the suspect could commit further serious crimes of comparable severity due to his mental state.
In the court’s commitment order, it stated that a comprehensive review of the circumstances suggests the suspect intended to kill and injure as many people as possible using his vehicle, suggesting the crime met the characteristics of premeditation and low motives.
While the public prosecutor’s office believes the commitment is necessary, the final determination of whether these legal prerequisites are met remains pending. The matter is subject to ongoing investigations and a thorough forensic-psychiatric evaluation of the suspect. Furthermore, the court specified that the commitment order can be converted into an arrest warrant at any time if the resulting evaluation determines that the initial grounds for involuntary commitment are not met.