Thousands mourn victims of racist shooting rampage in Germany

Around 10,000 protesters marched through the central German town of Hanau on Sunday to mourn the nine people who were killed by an immigrant-hating gunman four days ago.

"These days and hours are the blackest and darkest our town has ever experienced during peace times," Hanau mayor Claus Kaminsky told the somber crowds, according to the German news agency dpa. 

But, he said, those who want to pull apart society won't succeed, "because we are more and we will prevent that."

A 43-year-old German man shot to death nine people in the Frankfurt suburb on Wednesday before apparently killing his mother and himself. 

Five of the victims were reported to be Turkish citizens. The attacker left rambling texts and videos in which he espoused racist views, called for genocide and claimed to have been under surveillance since birth.

Turkey's ambassador to Germany, Ali Kemal Aydin, warned that Turkish immigrants in Germany are experiencing more and more hate crimes in the country.

"This cannot and this must not continue," Aydin said at the protest.

Shots fired near home of Turkish-Muslim cleric

Unknown suspects fired shots in front of a family house of a Turkish-Muslim cleric in Germany, the country’s largest Islamic organisation announced on Sunday.

The Turkish-Muslim umbrella group DITIB said in a statement that its Secretary-General Abdurrahman Atasoy’s family house in the southwestern city of Heilbronn was targeted in a suspected shooting incident on Saturday night.

The unknown suspect or suspects fired a gun in front of the house after Atasoy arrived to visit his sister and brother, and then fled the scene. No one was injured.

Atasoy told Anadolu Agency that the local police did not take the incident seriously, and only arrived at the house following a phone call from the Interior Ministry.

They found five metal bullets on the ground, and launched an investigation.

DITIB said rising number of racist attacks targeting people with a migration background, their religious and cultural institutions in recent weeks has been a grow ing concern for them.

"We are expecting from the police, judiciary and the politicians to take these threats more seriously," the group said in a statement.

The racist killings were Germany's third deadly far-right attack in a matter of months. The rampage followed October’s anti-Semitic attack on a synagogue in Halle and the slaying in June of a regional politician who supported Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming policy toward migrants.

The killings come at a time when the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany has become the country's first political party in decades to establish itself as a significant force on the extreme right. 

All of the victims had immigrant roots and many are accusing the party of producing a climate where right-wing extremism and racism can flourish.

There have been daily candle vigils for the victims since the shooting and another big protest against racism on Saturday that also drew thousands. A memorial for the victims is planned for later this week.