{"id":15755,"date":"2026-07-24T13:59:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T08:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=15755"},"modified":"2026-07-24T13:59:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T08:59:43","slug":"german-madeleine-mccann-suspect-christian-brueckner-allegedly-attacked-cops-outside-supermarket-after-taking-photos-of-them-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=15755","title":{"rendered":"German Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner allegedly attacked cops outside supermarket after taking photos of them: reports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F07%2F135342152.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The convicted sex offender considered to be the chief suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann allegedly attacked cops outside a German supermarket after taking photographs of them on his cell phone.<\/p>\n<p>Christian Brueckner, 49, is accused of clashing with the officers outside a store in Kiel, northern Germany, on June 6, and left one official injured in the dust-up, German outlet<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spiegel.de\/panorama\/justiz\/fall-madeleine-mccann-neue-ermittlungen-gegen-christian-b-a-b8aa5a87-e943-4d13-99e7-9529dd497786\"> Der Spiegel reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Brueckner \u2013 who has never been charged over McCann\u2019s 2007 disappearance \u2013 had refused to hand over his phone to police, who didn\u2019t want to be photographed, when he was asked to do so.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring the course of the police intervention, a physical assault or act of resistance against law enforcement officers occurred,\u201d a Kiel police spokeswoman told Der Spiegel.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Christian Brueckner, the suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, in a German court in 2024.  <span class=\"credit\">via REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One of the cops suffered a knee injury, and Brueckner is under investigation for the photographs.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe photo was taken from a distance of more than 40 meters [131 feet] and was unproblematic,\u201d his lawyer Philipp Marquort scoffed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis amounts to the persecution of innocent people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brueckner was <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/09\/17\/world-news\/main-suspect-in-british-toddler-madeleine-mccanns-disappearance-set-to-be-released\/\">released from a prison in Sehnde, Germany<\/a>, in September last year after serving a seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape of an American woman, then 72, which happened in Portugal.<\/p>\n<p>After his release, Brueckner was taken to Neum\u00fcnster, where he was \u201cverbally abused and threatened\u201d by residents after they found out he was living in the town, Agence-France Presse reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were worried that he might hide in one of the cellars,\u201d one concerned resident <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/world-news\/2026\/05\/04\/ankle-bracelet-and-a-tent-in-the-woods-christian-brueckners\/\">told the Telegraph.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>He then headed to Braunschweig in a failed bid to confront the prosecutors who claim he abducted McCann before moving onto Kiel.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>McCann vanished when she was 3 years old.  <span class=\"credit\">METROPOLITAN POLICE HANDOUT\/EPA-EFE\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It was reported in October that Brueckner was living in a tent in Kiel and was being protected by two cops from \u201cpossible attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brueckner\u2019s passport was canceled and he was ordered to wear an electronic tag upon his release from prison.<\/p>\n<p>He must declare a place of residence he cannot leave without obtaining permission from the authorities, according to Der Spiegel.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>McCann\u2019s parents Kate and Gerry hold up an artist\u2019s impression of how their daughter looked in 2012.  <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>German authorities first revealed in 2020 they were investigating Brueckner in connection with McCann\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n<p>McCann disappeared from her parents\u2019 holiday apartment at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, when she was just 3.<\/p>\n<p>McCann\u2019s parents, Kate and Gerry, were dining around 180 feet away from their apartment when the girl went missing.<\/p>\n<p>In April 2022, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/22\/madeleine-mccann-suspect-christian-brueckner-formally-declared\/\">Portuguese prosecutors declared Brueckner<\/a> an \u201carguido,\u201d which translates as suspect, without formally naming him.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024, Brueckner was cleared of three rapes and two counts of sexual abuse of children related to incidents that allegedly took place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Brueckner has declined interview requests from British police <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/09\/15\/world-news\/uk-police-say-49-year-old-german-remains-a-suspect-in-disappearance-of-madeleine-mccann\/\">as part of their investigation<\/a> into McCann\u2019s disappearance, known as Operation Grange.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Met continues to work with and support colleagues from law enforcement in Portugal and Germany,\u201d London\u2019s Metropolitan Police says.<\/p>\n<p><em>With Post wires.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The convicted sex offender considered to be the chief suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann allegedly attacked cops outside a German supermarket after taking photographs of them on his cell phone. Christian Brueckner, 49, is accused of clashing with the officers outside a store in Kiel, northern Germany, on June 6, and left one&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/135342152.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}