Germany enforces some of Europe’s toughest firearm regulations, demanding that applicants under 25 years old undergo a psychiatric evaluation prior to obtaining a gun licence.
A shooter fatally wounded four women and two men on Monday at a German shelter catering to mothers and their children, according to police reports stating the suspect was involved in a custody dispute over his three-month-old daughter.
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Emergency personnel arrived swiftly at the shooting scene in the northern town of Stade, where they discovered four victims already deceased. A fifth succumbed shortly thereafter on-site, while a sixth passed away later from their injuries.
«The perpetrator had a scheduled meeting today along with many of the victims to discuss upcoming custody arrangements for his three-month-old daughter,» explained Kathrin Schuol, police chief of Lüneburg, which is overseeing the inquiry.
«Both the child and her mother were present at the location but escaped harm from the gunfire.»
Schuol noted that the six victims—four women and two men—were all child welfare workers and had been violently shot.
A seventh victim sustained injuries and is currently in stable condition.
The suspect attempted to escape in a vehicle driven by a 65-year-old woman, who is thought to have a close connection to the gunman’s family, but was apprehended following a brief pursuit, according to Schuol.
Authorities discharged firearms at the car; however, neither the suspect nor the driver was harmed. Both individuals are now in police custody.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the shooting as «deeply shocking.»
«Numerous individuals committed to assisting and protecting others have either lost their lives or been wounded,» Merz stated. «My sympathies are with the victims and their relatives.»
No firearm licence
The individual was previously known to law enforcement, including for issuing threats, but «he was not previously classified as especially violent,» Schuol indicated.
She added that the suspect lacked a firearms licence, and investigators have yet to determine how he acquired the weapon.
Authorities reported that the man holds Turkish citizenship but was born in Germany.
The child’s mother informed police after the incident that she was no longer involved with the suspect, Schuol said, adding that the infant has been placed into care while police interview the mother and carry out further investigations.
The suspect resides in Hanover, approximately 200 kilometres south of Stade.
Schuol noted that the shelter in Stade, located on the Elbe river about 50 kilometres west of Hamburg, is managed by a private organization but provides services to clients including the child welfare agency based in Hanover.
An amateur video shared by the Bild newspaper depicted a police checkpoint stopping a Mercedes car with a shredded rear tire on a rural road.
Officers brandishing firearms are seen ordering the two occupants to exit the vehicle before detaining them as they lay prone on the road.
‘Extremely cold-blooded’
Daniela Behrens, Lower Saxony’s interior minister, described the murders as «extremely cold-blooded» and remarked that the «pain inflicted by the perpetrator here in Stade is profound and, in my judgment, even harder to express in words.»
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier extended his sympathies to the victims following the «horrific act of violence,» issuing a statement on Monday.
«I am profoundly disturbed by the extent of violence in a place intended to provide safety,» Steinmeier commented. «My thoughts go out to the families of those killed and wounded, who now face immense suffering.»
Internationally, according to Alexandre Rodde, a researcher focused on mass killings and terrorism, «the majority of mass murder cases, defined as those resulting in four or more fatalities, originate from domestic violence.»
Germany maintains some of the strictest firearm laws in Europe, mandating psychiatric evaluations for applicants under 25 prior to issuing gun licences.
Nevertheless, mass shootings happen occasionally, and Monday’s incident ranks among the deadliest recently reported.
In February 2020, a far-right extremist killed nine and wounded five in the German city of Hanau.
In March 2023, a disgruntled former Jehovah’s Witness murdered six members of the congregation in Hamburg before committing suicide.
In May 2022, a 21-year-old shooter fired at a secondary school in northern Germany, injuring a female staff member prior to being detained.
Additional sources • AP