Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Poisoning suspected at German college
BERLIN — Seven people at a university in Germany have received treatment after showing symptoms of poisoning, and prosecutors have opened an attempted-murder investigation, authorities said Tuesday.
The employees and students at the Technical University in Darmstadt, south of Frankfurt, experienced medical problems Monday. Police say milk cartons and water containers in a building on campus appear to have been contaminated with a harmful substance between Friday and Monday. The contaminated liquid was said to have a powerful smell.
Police and prosecutors said Tuesday that they had searched other university buildings but found nothing else linked to the suspected poisoning. They also said no one else had come forward with symptoms.
They said they are doing everything to “identify the culprit or culprits” and that, as far as they are aware, there is no longer any “acute danger.”
Prosecutor Robert Hartmann said that while authorities believe the contamination may have been deliberate, they have no information pointing to a specific person. He said the substance has been identified, but prosecutors won’t name it for now in view of the investigation.
One person was affected “relatively severely” by the poisoning, but their life apparently is no longer in danger, Hartmann said.
“We are shocked by the apparent crime that took place at our university,” President Tanja Bruehl said.