Five people were killed and several others were injured in a shooting at a youth welfare facility in the northern German city of Stade on Monday, according to police. Authorities have arrested the suspected gunman along with a second alleged perpetrator as investigations into the incident continue.
Police and emergency services responded in large numbers to the scene, with officers in protective gear securing the area. Helicopters were also deployed during the operation.
“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.”
Authorities confirmed that both the suspected shooter and another alleged suspect are in custody, adding that efforts are ongoing to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the attack.
There was no longer any danger to the public, they said.
Earlier, police announced that a major operation was underway in Stade, a city of around 50,000 residents located about 50 kilometres west of Hamburg.
“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 firearm regulations, including mandatory psychiatric evaluations for gun licence applicants under the age of 25. While mass shootings are uncommon, the country has witnessed several deadly attacks in recent years, including the 2020 Hanau shooting that killed nine people, the 2023 Hamburg attack on a Jehovah’s Witness congregation that left six dead before the shooter took his own life, and a 2022 school shooting in northern Germany in which a staff member was seriously injured.
