Walter Luebcke murder: Police arrest man with far-right links after deadly shooting of Angela Merkel party official

Federal prosecutors in Germany have opened an investigation into the killing of an official in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party amid reports the fatal shooting may have been politically motivated.

Walter Luebcke, 65, was shot in the head at his home near the German city of Kassel earlier this month.

The victim was the administrative chief of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the Kassel area of central Germany.

Regional prosecutors said a 45-year-old male suspect was arrested on Saturday after his DNA matched evidence found at the scene.

They have revealed no further details about the man, but German media reported he had links to far-right extremists.

News website Zeit Online reported the suspect, whom it identified only as Stephan E, had a history of involvement in hate crimes dating back decades, including in a 1993 pipe bomb attack on a refugee shelter in Hesse state.

Public broadcaster SWR reported that investigators suspect a political motive behind the killing and federal prosecutors are taking over the probe due to its potential significance.

Mr Luebcke had publicly backed Ms Merkel’s support for refugees in Germany in recent years.

Ms Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said the government hopes investigators can determine as quickly as possible who killed the party official.

Several hundred people, including local CDU politicians, attended Mr Luebcke’s funeral service in Kassel on Thursday.

His death marks the latest in a series of attacks on political figures in Germany in recent years.

In 2015 the independent politician Henriette Reker, who later become mayor of Cologne, survived being stabbed in the neck by a 45-year-old man identified as Frank S.

Convicted of attempted murder the following year, he was found to have been motivated by Ms Reker’s welcoming stance on refugees.

Andreas Hollstein, the pro-refugee mayor of Altena, was wounded in a knife attack in 2017. A 56-year-old man identified as Werner S was found guilty of grievous bodily harm.

Additional reporting by AP