Six killed at German youth facility after custody dispute shooting

A custody meeting at a youth welfare facility in Stade turned deadly after a 45-year-old man opened fire there around midday, killing six employees and wounding several others, some seriously. The man had an appointment at the shelter earlier on Monday over his 3-month-old daughter, and the child and her mother were not among the victims.

All six of the dead were adults who worked at the youth welfare facility or its affiliates. The victims included four women and two men, with five killed at the scene and a sixth dying later in hospital. The shooting took place on Dankersstrasse in Stade, Lower Saxony, a town of about 50,000 people roughly 40 to 50 kilometers west of Hamburg.

Investigators identified the suspect as a German-born man of Turkish origin from the Hanover area. He did not hold a firearms license, and the weapon used in the attack was seized, though it remained unclear how he obtained it. Authorities had prior intelligence on him for threatening behavior, but he had not been classified as “absolutely violent” in the police system.

Two suspects were arrested, including a female companion, and the area was quickly cordoned off as helicopters circled overhead and forensic teams moved in. The large police operation continued into the afternoon while investigators worked the scene and assessed the injuries to survivors.

Lower Saxony Interior Minister Daniela Behrens called the attack “cold-blooded” and said it had no political background. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was “deeply shocked” by the violence at a place intended to provide protection.

City councilor Carsten Brokelmann said nearby daycare and primary school children and staff were safe, and thanked police while expressing condolences to the victims’ families.