German police investigate politician found dead in his garden

The district president of Kassel in Germany, Walter Luebcke (CDU), has unexpectedly died at the age 65 on Sunday, according to a Kassel government spokesperson.

The exact circumstances of his death are still unclear. The senior German politician was found with a gunshot wound to his head in his garden, the Hessian daily newspaper HNA reported.

No weapon was found and the German homicide commission is investigating all possible angles. The State Criminal Investigation Office in Hesse (LKA) announced that further information on the case would be made available soon.

According to HNA information, a man who Luebcke supposedly met in the vicinity of the current fair not far from his house could be connected to the case. Both the criminal office as well as the state attorney have declined to comment this.

The area around Luebcke's house was closed off and a police helicopter circled above the house almost the whole day as neighbors were questioned by Kassel police officers. No further details about the operation were officially confirmed.

"We are deeply shocked by the sudden death of our friend Walter Luebcke", declared Hesse's Prime Minister Volker Bouffier and the Hessian CDU faction leader Michael Bodenberg on Sunday.

With the death of the Kassel district president Walter Luebcke, the party is losing a "bridge builder," the CDU statement read.