Two ATMs in Erlangen: Announcement shimmers away night owls!

Two ATMs in Erlangen: Announcement shimmers away night owls!

In the night of June 3, 2025, two ATMs were blown up in Erlangen. The perpetrators escaped in a dark vehicle and it remains unclear whether they could actually capture money. Already during the explosions, an explosive package did not detonate what the LKA specialists see on site as a potential advantage for the investigation. An LKA spokesman said that both the non-detonated explosives and possible DNA traces could provide decisive information on the perpetrators.

A suspicion suggests that a group of three to four people from the Netherlands could be responsible for the explosions. The investigators have initiated intensive measures to locate the fugitive, including by using a helicopter. The explosions took place around 3:00 a.m. and the two ATMs were at a distance of around 50 meters. The exact period between the explosions has so far been unknown. The police also plan witness surveys and the evaluation of video recordings.

Agency of the ATM blasts

In 2023, a total of 461 ATM sprinkles were registered nationwide, which corresponds to a decline of 7.1 percent compared to the previous year. At the same time, the prey amount was around 28.4 million euros. This number of cases has been the second highest since the beginning of the surveys in 2005. However, the threat situation in Germany is considered very high, and the trend towards using fixed explosives in these explosions has increased. Almost 90 percent of the incidents rely on fixed explosives, including pyrotechnic sentences and military explosives.

The explosions cover a considerable risk of uninvolved, especially due to falling debris and splinters. In addition, deaths in connection with the risky escape rides of the perpetrators were registered for the first time in 2023. Attacks on ATMs are often carried out by groups and not by individual perpetrators. Of the suspected suspects determined in 2023, almost 90 percent of foreign roots, and 136 came from the Netherlands, which underlines the international dimension of the problem.

international cooperation necessary

In order to counteract the increase in ATM sprinkles, intensive cooperation between the federal, state and international partners is required. At the EU level, a working group (operational task force) was launched with Europol, while at the national level a joint investigative database (GED) of the law enforcement authorities was set up to support the investigation. The Federal Criminal Police Office plays a central role here by raising information, evaluating and carrying out its own investigation.

The past few years show a tendency to increase the explosions in Germany, whereby regionally in particular the federal states near the Netherlands are affected. In a statement dated November 8, 2022, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the BKA has confirmed measures to combat these criminal attacks.