Frankfurt Airport Germany

US files charges in German airport shooting that killed two airmen

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – U.S. federal prosecutors have charged the man accused of killing two U.S. airmen in March at Frankfurt International Airport with murder and attempted murder. He is currently in custody in Germany, where he is under investigation for the March 2 shooting.

The criminal complaint, filed Tuesday, represents the formal beginning of U.S. criminal proceedings against the alleged gunman, Arid Uka, an ethnic Albanian from Kosovo who had been living in Germany, according to the Southern District federal court in New York.

Neither U.S. nor German authorities would comment on whether the U.S. is seeking extradition of Uka, who, according to German prosecutors confessed that he went to the Frankfurt airport intending to kill Americans “as revenge for the American mission in Afghanistan.”

Killed in the attack were Senior Airman Nicholas Alden and Airman 1st Class Zachary Cuddeback. Two other airmen were wounded.

At the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, spokeswoman Jerika Richardson said the case was extremely sensitive, “so we have no comment” concerning possible extradition or any other information about the case.

A press release said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara praised “the investigative efforts of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York,” and the Air Force office of Special Investigations among others, and “thanked German law enforcement officials and prosecutors, who are conducting their own investigation of this case under German law.”

Uka is facing murder and attempted murder charges in Germany. A spokesman for the German federal prosecutor’s office said Germany would continue pursuing its case against Uka, regardless of the U.S. action. In the German legal system, charges are not filed until after the invstigation is complete.

Uka’s German attorney, Jens-Joerg Hoffmann, said he was not aware of any extradition request.

Hoffmann, a public defender, said he doubts such a request would be fulfilled by the German government, since “the deed happened on German ground [soil].”

Uka has “admitted he committed these murders,” Hoffmann said.

A spokesman at Germany’s Interior Ministry said U.S. and German officials had discussed the case in the United States last month. He said Germany made clear that the case was under German jurisdiction. He would not elaborate on who was involved in those discussions.

OU Engineering: TAP-YTL: A Transportation Experience in Germany ...

S. Gizem Aydin, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Industrial Engineering at The University of Oklahoma, was one of 12 individuals selected to participate in the Translatlantic Program-Young Technology Leaders. Aydin’s strong background in transportation, specifically freight transport and her basic knowledge of the German language, made her a good candidate for the program. TAP-YTL encourages colleges and universities whose students are selected to participate in the program to offer course credits for the intensive eight-day program. There are between 30-35 hours of German language exposure and learning within the assigned field, which can include Logistics & Transportation, Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning, and Water Management are provided throughout the trip. This is a specialized professional development program that will enhance the participant’s knowledge about the field of focus while also promoting the participant’s understanding of German culture.

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