Child Welfare Center Shooting in Northern Germany Leaves 6 Dead, Suspected Custody Dispute

(CNA Germany, Stade, June 29, Combined News Agencies) A horrific shooting at a child welfare center in northern Germany has resulted in 6 fatalities. Preliminary investigations suggest the incident was a tragedy stemming from a dispute over child custody, and a terrorist attack has been ruled out.

Police have apprehended 3 individuals, including the main suspect in the shooting, and confirmed that all deceased were adults.

Footage revealed by German newspaper "Bild" shows police conducting a pursuit on a public road, surrounding a vehicle with a flat tire on the right side that was still attempting to move. A large number of heavily armed police officers then swarmed the vehicle, forcibly pulling 2 individuals out and subduing them on the ground.

The shooting occurred in Stade, a town near the port city of Hamburg. According to information obtained by "Der Spiegel," the case likely originated from personal grievances, and a terrorist attack motivated by political or extremist ideologies has been preliminarily ruled out.

According to reports from Agence France-Presse and Reuters, police stated at a press conference that all 6 deceased were social workers at the child welfare center. The alleged gunman is reportedly in a dispute over the custody of his 3-month-old daughter. At the time of the shooting, the infant and her mother were present in the center's office but were fortunately unharmed.

Mass shootings are extremely rare in Germany. The last similar tragedy occurred in 2023, when a gunman shot and killed 6 people at a place of worship in Hamburg before taking his own life. In another incident in 2016, an 18-year-old German-Iranian dual national with a morbid fascination for mass killings committed a shooting in Munich, claiming at least 9 lives. (Translated by Chen Yi-wei) 1150630

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