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Read our Privacy notice A police officer is fighting for his life in Germany after being shot by a right-wing extremist during a weapons raid The officer was one of four injured in a gun battle with a suspect named as Wolfgang P at a house in Georgensgmünd on Wednesday morning Officials said police were executing a warrant to confiscate legally-owned firearms after the 49-year-old refused mandatory inspections by local authorities A team of specialist officers launched the operation at 6am local time (5am BST) and were immediately met by gunfire told a press conference police found the suspect in a bedroom “He was hiding behind the door and shot through the closed door,” he said “It is not yet clear how many shots were fired.” Three hit an officer who remains in a critical condition while two others were injured by flying glass Wolfgang P is believed to have been alerted to the police’s approach by blue lights and sirens having a gun and bulletproof vest next to his bed The suspect was injured and taken into custody with an arsenal of 30 weapons seized in subsequent searches of his home Officials said he calls himself a “Reichsbürger” part of a far-right movement that claims the current German state is illegitimate and is alleged to have neo-Nazi links described his shock at the shooting and said it was “clear” that Wolfgang P fired before police officers “To be part of the Reichsbürger movement is to be a right-wing extremist,” he added “We must take a closer look at the movement The Reichsbürgers are not being dismissed as a group of nutters who are so consumed by their ideological beliefs are willing to use violence against police.” Mr Herrmann said the movement has been under “intensive observation” by state intelligence services because of elements' “far-right aims” Reichsbürgers adhere to their own self-declared government which issue their own version of official documents such as driving licences while followers frequently spurn federal taxes or fines They are mainly known for aggravating German authorities by pursuing obscure legal claims rather than violence but a member was wounded during a gun battle as he was evicted from his home in August who is unemployed and previously operated a martial arts school had reportedly written “scurrilous letters” on the movement after joining in the summer A recent report by Berlin's state intelligence service describes the Reichsbürgers as “an extremely diverse range of small groups and individuals who believe in an ideological mixture of conspiracy theories and who have been behaving increasingly aggressively for some time" Germany remains on a state of high alert following a series of terror attacks by Isis supporters including a suicide bombing in Ansbach and axe attack on a train Centres for asylum seekers have been the target of arson attacks and racist graffiti, while police uncovered a neo-Nazi plot to attack refugee accomodation with explosives last year. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies while another extremist punches officer in East Germany German authorities are increasingly concerned about the radicalisation of a movement that rejects the legitimacy of the federal republic and its constitution after two violent attacks on police officers within two days a man threw punches at police officers at a town hall office in Salzwedel A day earlier a man in the Bavarian town of Georgensgmünd opened fire on four officers carrying out a raid on his apartment one of whom has since died of his injuries Both men had self-identified as members of the Reichsbürger movement, which does not recognise the laws and institutions of modern Germany but instead adheres to the old German Reich that ceased to exist after the end of the second world war. Many, but not all, of its members are on the extreme right The incident in Salzwedel’s town hall escalated after a 43-year-old man with his 34-year-old wife had refused to register their dog, telling the official that he did not recognise modern Germany and its laws as legitimate. The Reichsbürger movement rejects the legitimacy of the modern Federal German Republic and its institutions, adhering instead to the German Reich with its pre-second world war borders and constitution. The movement is disparate and without a coherent leadership, ranging from far-right ideologues to those who are simply trying to get out of paying their taxes. However, police have in recent months observed a growing tendency towards violence among the movement's followers. When police arrived after the pair refused to leave the premises, the man started calling the officers “Nazis” and threw punches. During the ensuing altercation, one of the officers dislocated a shoulder and was taken to hospital. The couple have been temporarily banned from the town hall premises, though are still required to register their dog by post and would be fined if they failed to do so, police said. During Wednesday’s incident in Bavaria, the Reichsbürger named Wolfgang P opened fire on four police officers through a closed front door as they were ascending the stairs to his first floor flat. Though wearing protective gear and a bullet-proof vest, a 32-year-old officer was hit by three bullets and died of his injuries on Thursday morning. The 49-year-old financial adviser had come to the attention of local authorities after he had refused to pay motor vehicle tax and removed his name from the local register but had not vacated his apartment. When notified of a hearing with the antitrust authorities, Wolfgang P had responded with a letter stating: “I am a citizen of the Reich.” According to the newspaper Bild, he had declared his inherited apartment an autonomous state and marked its borders with yellow paint. The raid on his flat was ordered after P failed to meet a deadline for handing over an arsenal of 31 weapons registered in his name. The Reichsbürgerbewegung or “Reich citizen movement” is a disparate movement without a centralised leadership. Some of its followers believe in the German Reich with its 1937 borders, including territories now part of Poland, others adhere to the Prussian empire of 1871, while some have even declared their own micro-states. a former winner of the Mister Germany competition was injured during a police raid on his parents-in-laws’ premises which he had declared as an autonomous state called “Ur” police in Rhineland-Westphalia arrested the self-declared leader of an imaginary state called “Germanitia” What unites the various factions of the Reichsbürger movement is a belief that the Weimar constitution of 1919 was never fully abolished by either the National Socialist regime nor the allied forces and therefore remains valid rendering the Federal Republic of Germany illegal A phrase frequently employed by Reichsbürger is “BRD GmbH” stating that modern Germany is merely a “limited company” supporters of the Reichsbürger movement were often regarded as little more than loners and eccentric But the recent spate of attacks has inspired a rethink among German politicians with interior minister Thomas de Maiziére asking the country’s internal intelligence agency to revise its current classification of the group Bavaria’s interior minister Joachim Herrmann said on Friday that one police officer had this week been suspended for promoting Reichsbürger ideas while two others were facing disciplinary action A police spokesperson in Saxony-Anhalt said there was an “increasing tendency towards physical violence” among members of the movement but that it was not a phenomenon unique to the state in former East Germany where Thursday’s incident and the raid on Ursache’s flat occurred Minister vows to crack down on anti-government movement after 'horrific' killing The unnamed man was part of an armed response unit sent to confiscate legally-owned hunting weapons from an “unreliable” resident in Georgensgmünd When the team entered the 49-year-old man’s home early on Wednesday morning shooting two police officers and leaving two others with serious injuries from flying glass A 32-year-old officer was taken to hospital in a critical condition after bullets struck his helmet He died from his injuries in the early hours of Thursday morning a spokesperson for Central Franconia Police said said he was “deeply saddened” by the officer’s death “This brutal crime has left us all stunned,” he added “This is a difficult time for the Bavarian police and a terrible loss “We will all do our utmost to ensure the perpetrator receives his just punishment “Our great sympathies and full solidarity go out to his parents All police forces in the state of Bavaria are putting marks of mourning on their vehicles until the officer’s funeral who was part of a Spezialeinsatzkommandos (SEK) unit was the 65th Bavarian police officer to be killed since 1945 His alleged murderer identifies as a “Reichsbürger” He was injured and taken into custody during the raid which uncovered an arsenal of at least 30 weapons Mr Herrmann vowed to increase surveillance of the Reichsbürgerbewegung (Reich Citziens’ Movement) which has already been under “intensive observation” by state intelligence services because of some members’ “far-right aims” The minister said there would be careful assessment of their ability to own firearms announcing a goal to “deprive all Reichsbürgers who legally own a weapon of their licenses” “To be part of the Reichsbürger movement is to be a right-wing extremist,” Mr Herrmann added “Anyone who rejects the German rule of law can offer no guarantee that they will handle weapons in accordance with regulations.” also called for new measures to be taken to protect police officers after condemning the “horrific” death “Police officers are giving everything for the safety of our country,” he added “The increasing number of attacks by extremists is unbearable and unacceptable.” Germany remains on a state of high alert following a series of terror attacks by Isis supporters Centres for asylum seekers have been the target of arson attacks and racist graffiti, while police uncovered a neo-Nazi plot to attack refugee accommodation with explosives last year. Attack comes day after another ''Reichsbürger' shoots police officers during raid in Bavaria The man punched officers and called them “Nazis” after refusing to leave council offices in the town of Salzwedel on Thursday Police in Saxony-Anhalt said the suspect was a member of the Reichsbürger movement which claims the current German state is illegitimate and refuses its authority Civil servants called the police when he and his wife refused to leave their office but when officers arrived the pair launched a verbal and physical attack “When officers announced they would be able to [remove the couple from the building] the man suddenly launched an attack,” a police statement said “He struck out at officers and insulted them as Nazis A police officer was taken to hospital for treatment for his injuries Four officers were seriously injured in the raid in Georgensgmünd with one later dying of gunshot wounds in hospital The attack sparked calls from the Bavarian interior minister to increase surveillance of the Reichsbürgerbewegung (Reich Citziens’ Movement) “To be part of the Reichsbürger movement is to be a right-wing extremist,” Joachim Herrmann added which issues its own version of official documents such as driving licences and who have been behaving increasingly aggressively for some time“ called for new measures to be taken to protect police officers after condemning the police officer’s “horrific” death Mr de Maiziere said the status of the Reichsbürger movement would be re-evaluated by the government as it examines the possibility of further surveillance and security measures Germany remains on a state of high alert following a series of terror attacks by Isis supporters