STADE, Germany — German police on Tuesday continued investigating a shooting at a youth welfare facility in the northern town of Stade that killed six people, as authorities probed a possible link to a child custody dispute.
Five victims died at the scene Monday and a sixth died later in hospital, according to Kathrin Schuol, police chief for Lueneburg, who is leading the investigation. The victims, four women and two men, were employees of the facility, not residents, a German police official told Reuters. A seventh person was wounded and was reported in stable condition.
The suspected gunman, identified by police as a 45-year-old German-born Turkish citizen, was arrested shortly after the shooting following a car chase. Police said he had an appointment at the facility that day to discuss custody arrangements for his three-month-old daughter, who along with her mother was present but not injured.
A 55-year-old woman described by police as having close family ties to the suspect was also taken into custody on suspicion of driving the getaway vehicle. Police said officers fired at the fleeing vehicle during the chase but that neither occupant was hurt.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Friedrich Merz both issued condolences to the victims' families and thanked emergency responders, police said.
Stade, a town of about 50,000 people roughly 45 kilometers (27 miles) west of Hamburg, is home to the facility, which provides temporary accommodation for pregnant women and young mothers with children. Police said the area has been cleared and there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Authorities said the investigation into the full circumstances and motive of the shooting was continuing.
