STADE — A shooting at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade left six people dead on Monday, police said, with a suspect arrested shortly after the attack.
Five people — four women and one man — died at the scene, while a sixth victim, also an adult, died later at a hospital, police said. All six were employees of the facility or its affiliates, according to police. Several other people were wounded, some seriously, German news agency dpa reported, though authorities did not provide a specific injury count.
Police said a 45-year-old German-born Turkish citizen was arrested as the main suspect shortly after the shooting, following a brief car chase. A 65-year-old woman, identified by police as the getaway driver with close ties to the suspect's family, was also taken into custody, along with a third person subject to unspecified "police measures."
Daniela Behrens, interior minister for the Lower Saxony region, told a news conference that investigators were working "under high pressure" to establish the motive and exact course of events, describing the attack as an extremely violent crime carried out in cold blood, "apparently in a custody dispute." Police said the suspect had an appointment at the facility regarding custody of his three-month-old daughter, who was present along with her mother but was not injured. The child remains in the custody of the youth welfare office, police said, and the mother remains subject to police measures.
The facility, located on Dankersstrasse south of the town center, provides temporary accommodation for pregnant women and young mothers with children. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued messages of condolence to the victims' families, police said.
Police said the area has been cleared and there is no ongoing threat to the public. The investigation into the shooting remains active, with further details expected as authorities continue their inquiry.
