“First Blood” (Rambo 1) now happening in the woods of Europe

As if 2020 wasn’t wild enough, it now seems that Rambo 1 is happening in real life! From BBC News:

German police backed by helicopters are hunting a homeless man in the Black Forest, who is reportedly armed with pistols and a bow and arrows.

The manhunt was launched on Sunday in Oppenau, south-west Germany, about 25km (16 miles) from the French border.

Media reports say Yves Rausch, 31, wearing camouflage gear, disarmed four police officers on Sunday after threatening them with a pistol.

Police have warned the public and aircraft to avoid the area.

The police warning says "Beware!... The wanted man has several guns!" Local drivers have been warned against picking up hitch-hikers.

Earlier a police spokesman said the suspect had appeared co-operative on Sunday, after police tracked him down, but then "suddenly he pulled out his pistol and aimed at the officers".

"They were totally stunned," he said, and "they had no chance to react to the dangerous situation."

The suspect is known to the police for previous offences, including illegal possession of firearms, AFP news agency reports.

Some reports have nicknamed him "Rambo" after the fictional, violent Vietnam war veteran who goes on the run from US police.

“First Blood” plot in the beginning:

Rambo continues to travel, wandering into the small town of Hope, Washington. He is intercepted by the town's Sheriff, Will Teasle, who considers Rambo an unwanted nuisance. Teasle, however, offers Rambo a lift to make sure he is headed in the right direction. When Rambo, now in Teasle's police car, asks for directions to a diner, Teasle tells him that there is a diner 30 miles up the highway. He then drives Rambo out of the town and tells him that Portland, where Rambo had initially said he was headed, lies straight ahead. Teasle then drops Rambo off and drives back towards the town. When Rambo tries to return, Teasle intercepts and arrests him on charges of vagrancy, resisting arrest, and possessing a concealed knife.

Led by sadistic chief deputy Art Galt, Teasle's officers abuse Rambo, triggering flashbacks of the torture he endured as a POW in Vietnam. When they try to dry-shave him with a straight razor, Rambo overwhelms the patrolmen, regains his knife, and fights his way out of the police station before stealing a motorcycle and fleeing into the woods. Teasle organizes a search party with automatic weapons, dogs, and a helicopter.

Pretty damn similar. We wish the German authorities the best of luck (they’re gonna need it!).