Six killed in shooting at shelter in northern Germany

BERLIN: Six adults were killed in a shooting at a shelter for mothers and children in Stade, a town near the northern German port city of Hamburg, police said.

Authorities said three people were detained, including the suspected shooter. Police described the case as a homicide involving multiple victims and did not announce any motive for the attack.

German media initially reported that five people — four women and one man — had been killed. Police later said a sixth adult died in hospital from injuries sustained in the shooting.

Police operation and detentions

Video published by Bild showed police surrounding a car travelling on a road with a flat tyre and detaining two people from the vehicle. The footage showed the car, with a damaged right tyre, slowing to a stop on a tree-lined road before armed officers moved in and ordered the two occupants to lie on the ground.

Police also sealed off the area around the facility, located on a cobbled street lined with red-brick homes. Forensic personnel in white protective suits and plainclothes officers were seen at the scene as the investigation continued.

Earlier, police had urged people to avoid the area where the shooting took place. They later said there was no danger to the wider public.

Motive not announced

Police did not provide a reason for the shooting. The Spiegel news outlet, citing information it had obtained, reported that investigators believed the case was likely linked to a personal matter rather than a political or extremist motive.

Mass shootings are uncommon in Germany, particularly in comparison with the United States. In 2023, a gunman in Hamburg killed six people at a Jehovah's Witness hall before taking his own life. In 2016, an 18-year-old German-Iranian man who was described as being obsessed with mass killings shot dead at least nine people in Munich.