Six runaway goats caught by police
The cantonal police and fire fighters of Basel-Stadt on Sunday caught six runaway goats that had escaped from their pen.
The animals, kept in a pen in Riehen, had escaped through a hole in the fence and made a run for it. However, their adventure was short-lived, ending in them being captured at the nearby Hörnli Sportplatz.
The escapees were reported to the central office shortly after 3pm, the police announced on Monday. A police patrol was able to quickly locate the animals. The officers stopped local traffic while the flock of horned wanderers made their way to Grenzach in Germany.
With the help of more police officers and a crew of professional fire fighters, the goats were caught. The officers brought the animals back to their owner, who only realised they had escaped when they were returned.
Public car parks in Basel have secretly become more expensive
At the end of last month, Basel’s government changed the parking fees at the city’s five car parks. The plan was to make them more equal and fairer. The price of parking has however increased and, in some cases, doubled through this measure.
Liberal Democrats Grand Council member, Heiner Vischer, has closely inspected the new car park regulations. He noticed that the tariffs did not only become “unified and fairer”, as the government of Basel-Stadt announced on 17October, but also more expensive.
In specific car parks, the fees have doubled: at the City, Elisabethen, and Steinen car parks, the hourly rate has increased from 1.50 Swiss francs to 3 francs. According to Mr Vischer, the tariffs were raised on a general level. The Grand Council member is questioning why there was no consultation process prior to the change. Neither the city’s trade association nor interested groups within the city centre were informed about the increase. Mr Vischer wants to know why the government did not release this information.
Man appears in court after balcony shooting incident
A man who allegedly shot at cars and buses from a balcony last Saturday night appeared in court yesterday. In the meantime, more car owners have filed complaints because of bullet holes in their vehicles.
The police arrested a 45-year-old Filipino man last Saturday after a neighbour reported shots being fired at 1am in the morning. The man had allegedly fired at cars with a rifle from the balcony of a home in Metzgerstrasse.
A public prosecution spokesperson announced on Monday that the man is to be kept in custody. The reason for the shooting still remains unclear. Due to ongoing investigations, there is no further information available about the man, his mental state during the shooting, or a possible motive for his actions.
Bullet holes were first discovered on two buses on line 36 as well as on three cars. Three further people have filed complaints because of damage to their cars.
According to the public prosecution, the bullet holes in the buses were only noticed when the vehicles had returned to the bus depot. It is believed someone had opened fire on the buses as they were passing.
Nobody was injured by the shots. The spokesperson for the public prosecution said they remain "open" to including a charge of endangering the lives of others among the criminal charges against the accused. This is because the buses have bullet holes only in their chassis and not in the windows.
Investigations about the weapon are also ongoing. According to the public prosecution, the rifle used was definitely not an air gun, but it was also not an assault rifle. It is also still unclear how the alleged shooter could have obtained a weapon and whether he was legally allowed to own one.