Alleged extremist tried in Germany over police shooting

An alleged adherent of an anti-government extremist group has gone on trial in Germany over the fatal shooting of a police officer as authorities tried to confiscate the suspect's hoard of firearms.

Prosecutors accuse the defendant, identified only as Wolfgang P., of murder and attempted murder over the shooting in October in Georgensgmuend in Bavaria. One officer died and two were wounded after he allegedly fired at an armed response unit sent to his home to confiscate his weapons.

News agency dpa reported that he refused to give his personal details as the trial opened Tuesday at the state court in Nuremberg.

The defendant is believed to be an adherent of the Reich Citizens Movement, a loose grouping that refuses to acknowledge the authority of Germany's post-war federal republic.