Angriffe auf Energieversorgung: Sabotage am Stromnetz: Polizei findet Bekennerschreiben

Following sabotage attacks on the power grid across several German states, police discovered another confession letter near Aachen, found alongside several shooting devices near the Weisweiler power plant, police reported. The contents of the letter could not be disclosed for investigation reasons. Whether this letter and the discovered shooting devices were indeed created by the 48-year-old suspect wanted for days remains to be determined.

Reports suggest the designs resemble those found in recent sabotages of energy supply sensitive locations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, and Saxony. However, the 48-year-old suspect had detailed information about his actions in two confession letters that went public in recent days. It is possible that someone else copied his actions.

Police heard thunder and explosion sounds on Monday evening around 9:00 PM, during the search in Weisweiler. These could indicate a recent short circuit on the high-voltage lines. No damage had been identified so far, police revealed. The installation date of the shooting devices is unclear. Authorities had extensively searched the area in Weisweiler the previous week but did not notice the devices or the confession letter at that time.

Police returned to the area on Tuesday with a large force. A drone with a thermal camera was used to help track the suspect if he was still nearby. Given the extensive police operation, the Weisweiler exit from the A4 highway remained blocked. The search for the 48-year-old suspect continued without success. Since the sabotage actions, authorities have been searching for the suspect in North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, and Saxony, after he allegedly attempted to shoot thin wires over high-voltage lines using homemade rockets and cause a short circuit in at least two cases.

In Bergheim, near Cologne, several power plant blocks were shut down for several days, and in Brandenburg near the Turnow-Preilack substation, two short circuits occurred. Over 20 homemade rockets were shot at the high-voltage lines with conductive material in both incidents, but there was no power outage in either case. Confession letters were found, which authorities consider authentic and attribute to the sought 48-year-old from Gevelsberg in southern Ruhr area.

The suspect claimed the attacks on the power grid were acts of "climate terrorism" against the use of fossil fuels.