A gunman embroiled in a custody dispute over his three-month-old daughter has killed six people, including four women and two men, and wounded another at a child welfare centre in Stade, near Hamburg in northern Germany.
The suspect was arrested shortly after the shooting on Monday while attempting to flee in a car driven by a 55-year-old woman believed to have “a close connection to the gunman’s family.”
Both were apprehended after a brief chase, while police launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack and the woman’s possible involvement.
According to Lueneburg Police Chief Kathrin Schuol, who is leading the investigation, the suspect had attended a scheduled meeting at the welfare centre earlier in the day to discuss custody arrangements for his infant daughter before opening fire around midday.
“The perpetrator had an appointment today, along with many of the victims, to discuss future custody arrangements for his three-month-old daughter,” Schuol said. “Both the child and her mother were present at the location but were not injured by gunfire.”
A police spokesperson, quoted by German news agency DPA, said the shooting occurred near a youth welfare centre in the town. The facility provides temporary accommodation for pregnant women and young mothers with their children.
Lower Saxony Interior Minister Daniela Behrens said investigators had found no evidence of a political or economic motive, describing the shooting as an “extremely cold-blooded act of violence.”
Mass shootings are relatively rare in Germany, particularly when compared with the United States. In 2023, a gunman killed six people before taking his own life at a Jehovah’s Witness hall in Hamburg, while in 2016, an 18-year-old German-Iranian gunman who was obsessed with mass killings shot dead nine people in Munich.