The first caller came forward on Saturday afternoon, August 6 at around 3:30 p.m. and said that two men were loading three bicycles into a French station wagon in the area of the swimming pool in Steinach in Baden-Württemberg. Shortly afterwards, another witness reported that two suspects had also previously tampered with the bicycles parked at the Haslach outdoor pool near Freiburg i. Br.

The police patrols from Haslach immediately set off and were able to identify and follow the white van as it rode towards Schweighausen. The driver of the van disregarded both the stop signal and the siren and continued to ride unperturbed. The pursuit continued through the Schuttertal valley via Streitberg to Kenzingen in the direction of Endingen.

According to the security forces, it was not possible to stop the vehicle several times without endangering the police patrols deployed from the Offenburg and Freiburg police headquarters. The Fiat driver even evaded a so-called stop stick at the exit of Sasbach am Kaiserstuhl. The fleeing driver left the road and rode into an adjacent field. As the officers approached the vehicle, the tires took hold and the driver headed back towards the road and the police officers. The two were able to escape the danger zone by jumping to the side and subsequently fired shots at the tires of the getaway vehicle. In an attempt to reach the border in the direction of Marckolsheim, the two men rode head-on into a patrol car, but were arrested before reaching the border.

The two men, aged 19 and 24, had a total of six high-quality bicycles in their white van, including pedelecs, some of which were still secured with their original locks. Initial estimates put the damage to property at several thousand euros. The police currently assume that all the bikes were stolen and have started an investigation. The Offenburg public prosecutor has requested an arrest warrant for the two suspects from the Offenburg district court.

On Sunday afternoon, August 7, the magistrate at Offenburg district court followed the request of the Offenburg public prosecutor's office and issued an arrest warrant for the suspects. The two men, aged 19 and 24, were subsequently sent to prison.