E. German Guard Takes Chief’s Rifle, Keys--Flees to West
A 23-year-old border guard from Communist East Germany grabbed his supervisor’s rifle and keys Tuesday, unlocked a frontier fence gate and escaped to West Germany, police said.
According to a statement from West German border police:
The sentry was on duty in an observation tower in early morning darkness when he made his move.
The guard’s supervisor also was on duty but apparently did not spot what was going on.
The sentry took his supervisor’s Soviet-made Kalashnikov assault rifle, 60 rounds of ammunition and keys for a gate installed in the 12-foot-high East German border fence for inspection purposes.
He fled unnoticed into West Germany and reported to border police in Widdershausen village, about 90 miles northeast of Frankfurt.
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