Shooting in northern Germany leaves 6 people dead, suspected shooter arrested<\/p>\n
A shooting at a youth welfare facility in northern Germany on Monday left six people dead, police said. The suspected shooter was arrested.<\/p>\n
Five people – four women and one man – died at the scene of the shooting in Stade, police said. A sixth, also an adult, died later at a hospital.<\/p>\n
Police said several people were wounded, some of them seriously, German news agency dpa reported, but they did not give a specific figure or information on the victims’ identity.<\/p>\n
Police said the shooting took place in the facility on Dankersstrasse, a street south of the town center. The facility includes temporary accommodation for pregnant women or young mothers with children.<\/p>\n
A main suspect was arrested, while another two people were subject to “police measures” on suspicion of involvement, police said in a statement. They didn’t elaborate.<\/p>\n
Video footage after the shooting showed a large police presence, along with other emergency service personnel and several ambulances on a residential street.<\/p>\n
Police said they were working to establish the background and circumstances for the shooting.<\/p>\n
Germany’s gun laws are more restrictive than those in the United States, and mass shootings are rare but not unheard of.<\/p>\n
Vitali Mertens, who lives across the street from the scene, said he heard gunshots and “the whole area was cordoned off right away.”<\/p>\n
Stade has about 50,000 inhabitants and is located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Hamburg.<\/p>\n