A Syrian man has been transferred from Sweden to Germany under police supervision in connection with an alleged contract shooting in the Cologne area which seriously injured a man. According to investigators, the suspect is accused of carrying out the attack for payment—in what authorities describe as a case of so-called “crime-as-a-service,” where violent acts are outsourced for money.
The incident reportedly took place on the night of December 21st, 2025 in the Dellbrück district of Cologne. Police say the victim, a 36-year-old man with no known prior connection to the suspect, was sitting in his car in a parking lot when he was approached and shot several times through the windshield. He survived the attack but sustained life-threatening injuries.
Authorities allege that the suspect, a 28-year-old Syrian national, had travelled from Sweden to Germany shortly before the shooting in order to carry out the attack. After firing the shots, he is said to have fled the scene in a rental vehicle. German police later issued a European arrest warrant, and the suspect was arrested in Sweden in April 2026 before being extradited to Germany on April 16th.
Investigators believe the man was promised several thousand euros for the attempted killing. However, officials have not yet commented on who may have ordered the attack or the broader circumstances behind the case.
German authorities describe the case as an example of the increasing professionalisation of organised crime networks, in which services such as fraud, money laundering, and violent offences are allegedly contracted out.
The case comes amid a complex crime wave in Germany. In 2025, police recorded around 5.5 million offences, a 5.6% decline compared to 2024, largely attributed to the partial legalisation of cannabis in April 2024, which reduced drug-related offences. However, serious crime increased in several categories, including murder and manslaughter, which rose by 6.5%, and rape and other serious sexual offences, which increased by 8.5%.
