Four women, one man shot dead at youth centre in northern Germany

Berlin: Five people were killed in a shooting on Monday at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade, police said. Two people were arrested, including the suspected shooter.

Police said the dead were four women and a man and several people were wounded, some of them seriously, German news agency dpa reported. They did not give a specific figure or information on the victims’ identity.

Police said the shooting took place in the facility on Dankersstrasse, a street south of the town centre. That facility includes temporary accommodation for pregnant women or young mothers with children.

There was no danger to the public, police said. Video footage after the shooting showed a large police presence, along with other emergency service personnel and several ambulances on a residential street.

Police said they were working to establish the background to the shooting and what exactly happened.

Germany’s gun laws are more restrictive than those in the United States, and mass shootings are rare but not unheard-of.

Vitali Mertens, who lives across the street from the scene, said he heard gunshots and “the whole area was cordoned off right away”. He added that “the police sent me away”.

Stade has about 50,000 inhabitants and is located about 40 kilometres from Hamburg.

AP

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