German police arrest armed man after he killed his 62-year-old mother and took hostages in shopping centre
- Dresden Police evacuated a shopping centre in east Germany this morning
- Local media reported several hostages had been taken by a man with a pistol
- The man, 40, reportedly killed his mother, 62, before shooting up a radio station
- Police confirm armed assailant is in custody with two hostages, both unharmed
One woman has reportedly died and hostages were taken after a gunman’s rampage this morning in Dresden, Saxony.
German police evacuated a shopping centre to deal with a hostage situation in downtown Dresden.
Bild reported that an armed man, 40, killed his mother, 62, in an apartment in southeast Dresden before storming a local radio station and firing shots.
Police said the operation was over with two hostages in custody and none harmed just before midday on Saturday, British time.
Members of a special police task force unit secure the area near a shopping center in Dresden
Police announced on social media that a hostage situation in Dresden, east Germany, was over and that two people were released ‘unharmed’ after evacuating a shopping centre
Bild reported today that a man, 40, had killed a woman, 62, before storming a radio station
The man is understood to have holed up in a drugstore in the shopping centre near the castle
Bild reported that the assailant killed his mother before rushing to Radio Dresden’s offices.
Radio Dresden said that an armed man entered the office building at around 08:30 local time (07:30 GMT).
The man fired shots indoors before fleeing by car to the Altmarktgalerie shopping centre, 0.7 miles to the north.
The station confirmed that all employees had escaped unharmed.
Holed up in a pharmacy, the man reportedly took a woman and a child hostage.
Police negotiated with the man before overpowering him at around midday (11am GMT).
Police refused to confirm details at the time but asked locals to stay away from the area and confirmed the nearby Striezelmarkt Christmas market had been closed.
Police special forces overpowered the man around midday local time on Saturday
Security forces securing the area at a Christmas market in Dresden, Saxony, this morning
Dresden police asked locals to avoid the area but did not confirm any further details
The man reportedly killed his mother before storming Radio Dresden in the south of the city
Dresden State confirmed on Twitter at 12:50 (11:50 GMT) that police had concluded the operation with two hostages safe and the assailant in custody.
The woman and child were confirmed to have escaped unharmed.
The gunman was injured.
At 13:00 (12:00 GMT), the state authority confirmed the situation was over and the market could be reopened.
Police also confirmed the killing of a 62 year old woman by her son, 40, in Prohlis, Dresden, was linked to the hostage situation, but declined to give details.
A police officer speaks with people as he secures the area at a Christmas market in Dresden
Police reacted quickly, rescuing the hostages and reopening the centre at 1pm local time
Police the area at a Christmas market in Dresden after reports of hostages taken nearby
Police refused to confirm the death of a woman reportedly shot by the man with a pistol
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