Newsletters
Five people were shot dead at a youth welfare center in northern Germany on Monday, and the suspected gunman was arrested, police said, in one of the country's deadliest mass shootings in years.
Police in protective vests and ambulances were seen in large numbers at the site in Stade, west of Hamburg, after the shooting.
"Homicides involving multiple victims occurred at a youth welfare facility" in the city, police said.
"Five people were fatally injured and additional individuals sustained injuries."
Police said the suspected gunman and a second alleged perpetrator were detained.
Investigations into what precisely happened were ongoing, police said, adding that there was no longer any danger to the public.
As news emerged of the shooting, police confirmed that a major operation was underway in Stade, a city of about 50,000 people on the Elbe River, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Hamburg.
Images in local media showed a large contingent of police and ambulances gathered on a cobblestoned street in Stade while helicopters hovered overhead.
"We ask you to leave the area and give it a wide berth for your own safety," police said in an earlier post on X.
Germany has some of Europe's strictest gun laws. Anyone under 25 must pass a psychiatric exam before applying for a gun license, and mass shootings are relatively rare.
But they do occur, and Monday's attack was among the deadliest in recent years.
In February 2020, a far-right extremist shot dead nine people and wounded five others in the central German city of Hanau.
In March 2023, a disgruntled former Jehovah's Witness member shot dead six people from the Christian group's congregation in Hamburg before killing himself.
In May 2022, a 21-year-old gunman opened fire at a secondary school in northern Germany, seriously injuring a female staff member before being arrested.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
