At least six people, four women and two men, have lost their lives and several more have been injured in the shooting that occurred this Monday in a care center for women with children in the German city of Stade, in the north of the country, in an incident linked to "family" motives. All the deceased victims worked for the private company responsible for managing the children's center.
"According to the information available, five people have died at the scene and a sixth has died in the hospital due to their injuries. All the deceased victims are adults," the local police of Lüneburg reported in a message disseminated on social media.
Security forces have indicated that one of the arrested individuals is considered the main perpetrator of the attack, while two other people remain under police measures while it is clarified whether they had any involvement in what happened.
The Interior Minister of Lower Saxony, Daniela Behrens, described the attack as a "cold-blooded" act perpetrated "without political or economic motives," but rather "family" ones.
According to German public television ARD, the suspect's three-month-old daughter and the baby's mother resided at the center, and a dispute over the custody of the minor is being considered as a possible trigger for the crime.
The incident began around 12:10 PM, when the police received several emergency calls reporting shots fired at the Children and Youth Home in Stade, a town located about 45 kilometers west of Hamburg, in the federal state of Lower Saxony.
Officers immediately rushed to the scene, taking advantage of the proximity of a police station, and found four lifeless bodies. They attempted to resuscitate a fifth victim who was outside the building, without success, while a sixth person died later in the hospital due to the severity of their injuries, as detailed at a press conference by Police Chief Kathrin Schuol.
"The police stopped a fleeing vehicle in which the suspect was traveling near the crime scene," Schuol added. The officers shot the car's tires to force the driver to stop and proceeded to arrest the man and a woman who was traveling with him.
The detainee is a 45-year-old man, of German nationality, of Turkish origin, and born in Hanover. He had a police record and a previous conviction for threats.
Sources cited by ARD indicate that the suspect allegedly pulled out a pistol during a scheduled meeting at the reception center to address the baby's situation, after the man had shown "problematic behaviors". The Police have specified that he did not have a firearms permit.
The residents of the children's center were unharmed and have already been transferred to other resources. According to the information published on the center's own website, its facilities are aimed at receiving young mothers and pregnant women.