A lone gunman opened fire at a mothers’ centre in the German city of Cologne on Tuesday, killing six women before turning the weapon on himself. The attack has sent shockwaves through European security circles, but for British investigators, the real story may be how the gunman slipped through the cracks of a system that was supposed to flag his radicalisation. Sources close to the German federal police tell me the shooter, identified only as a 32-year-old German national, had a documented history of mental instability and violent misogyny.
Yet he was able to legally purchase a semi-automatic pistol used in the assault. The mothers’ centre, a community hub for single mothers and their children, was targeted deliberately. The assailant’s manifesto, recovered from his apartment, contained rambling tirades against women, immigrants, and the ‘global feminist agenda’.
British counter-terror officials are now reassessing whether the UK’s own threat assessment protocols are fit for purpose. A senior Whitehall source, speaking on condition of anonymity, conceded: ‘We have been too quick to dismiss ideological violence that does not fit the Islamist or far-right mould. The Cologne attacker was a lone actor motivated by a toxic brew of personal grievance and internet radicalisation.
Our systems are not designed to catch that.’ The tragedy comes just weeks after a leaked Home Office report warned that ‘incel’ ideology is gaining traction in the UK, with at least three foiled plots linked to the movement since 2020. Meanwhile, cuts to mental health services mean that warning signs are often missed.
The mother of one of the victims told reporters that the shooter had been thrown out of three different therapy programmes in the past two years. ‘They said he was a danger to others,’ she said. ‘But no one listened.
’ The German government has ordered a full review of firearms licensing laws. But in Britain, the conversation is shifting to whether police should have the power to seize the laptops and phones of individuals flagged for misogynistic extremism, without requiring a formal terror classification. Human rights groups warn of mission creep.
But for the families of the six women killed in Cologne, the debate is academic. They are burying their daughters, sisters, and mothers today.
