Six killed in shooting at German youth facility, police say
By Sebastian Shukla, Benjamin Brown, Lauren Kent, Stephanie Halasz, CNN
(CNN) — Six people have been killed in a shooting at a youth welfare facility in the northern German city of Stade, police said on Monday.
Stade police said several others have been injured in the shooting. Five people died at the scene, while a sixth person succumbed to their injuries in hospital, police said. All are adults.
Police said Monday evening that three people are in police custody, including one individual who is allegedly the “main perpetrator” of the shooting. The involvement of the other two people is being investigated.
Earlier in the day, police said they had arrested two suspected perpetrators, including the alleged shooter.
An investigation into the circumstances is ongoing.
The area has been cleared and there is no ongoing threat to the public, police told CNN. Police have asked the public to avoid the area.
Local councillor Carsten Brokelmann said that the city operates a daycare facility and a primary school in the immediate vicinity of where the shooting happened.
“We are relieved that our staff and the children in the daycare center and elementary school are all safe and well, and I would like to thank the police officers for their service in this chaotic situation,” he said in a statement.
“At the same time, our deepest sympathies go out to the victims of this terrible act and their families,” Brokelmann said.
The police force has warned that unverified information about the incident has appeared online, and asked people not to spread any rumours as this could hinder the investigation.
Stade, some 45 kilometres (27 miles) west from Hamburg, is a historical town of about 50,000 people.
Mass shooting incidents are rare in Germany. The country has strict gun ownership laws requiring a license. To get a permit to own a gun, residents need to demonstrate they are reliable, undergo a training course and an exam and prove their need to own a weapon.
According to German government data, some 929,000 people in the country of 83 million own just over 3 million guns.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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CNN’s Ivana Kottasová contributed to this report.
