German federal and state authorities are hunting for a 48-year-old suspect from Gevelsberg following sabotage attempts against critical power infrastructure in North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg, according to statements from law enforcement officials and government ministers.
Attacks Target Power Grids in NRW and Brandenburg
The sabotage wave unfolded early in the week, targeting high-voltage infrastructure and cutting power generation capacity. According to state and federal officials, attacks struck Hochspannungsleitungen near the Turnow-Preilack substation in Brandenburg on Tuesday morning, disrupting power routed from the nearby Jänschwalde power plant and causing two distinct short circuits.
Later that same evening, a similar disturbance hit an infrastructure substation in Bergheim near Cologne. Investigators recovered launching devices and pyrotechnics near both primary locations. Mona Neubaur, the North Rhine-Westphalia Energy Minister, reported that the disruptions forced five brown coal (lignite) blocks operated by energy supplier RWE Power to drop offline. A further sabotage attempt was identified by police at a substation near Dormagen, situated between Düsseldorf and Cologne, where two additional launching rigs were recovered.
Federal Investigation Points to Authenticated Confessions and Motives
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated during a press conference that current findings point toward a lone perpetrator operating under a “climate extremism” motive. Herbert Reul, the Interior Minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, confirmed that investigators recovered two authentic confession letters penned by a 48-year-old resident of Gevelsberg, near Hagen.
According to Reul, the letters contain detailed perpetrator knowledge and outline an explicit opposition to conventional energy sources, quoting one passage: “I am not attacking the country, but the fossil raw material industry.” However, Reul cautioned that investigators have not yet definitively established whether the letter’s author executed the attacks alone or at all, noting that authorship does not automatically confirm physical responsibility. Federal and state authorities are actively examining potential links to the Brandenburg incidents.
“The fact is: Not electricity generation from fossil fuels is a crime, but attacking critical infrastructure is a crime,” Reul said during the briefing, emphasizing the direct threat posed to everyday citizens, hospital equipment, and public safety systems.
Special Forces Storm Vehicle as Security Measures Tighten
After failing to locate the suspect at his residential address, special tactical units (SEK) stormed a vehicle belonging to the man at the Hambacher Forest, according to Markus Gemünd, head of the state protection department within the NRW interior ministry. Although the suspect was not inside the vehicle at the time of the raid, officials believe he remains on foot in the region.
During subsequent searches of the suspect’s home, investigators uncovered explosive materials, which officials later identified as potassium nitrate and potassium perchlorat. While left-wing extremism remains a possible background, Reul confirmed that authorities are not ruling out foreign-state-sponsored sabotage.
Addressing the broader security landscape, Minister Dobrindt warned that Germany must prepare for additional threat scenarios. He advocated for expanding corporate drone defense capabilities and reinforcing security authorities both numerically and technically to counter simultaneous threats spanning espionage, cyberattacks, covert actions, and state terrorism.
