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German police have ended a hostage situation lasting several hours after a gunman killed his mother and stormed a shopping center in Dresden today.
The Saxon State Police closed Altmarkt-Galerie, one of Dresden’s most popular shopping malls, and the Striezelmarkt Christmas market this morning.
In a statement posted to Twitter at 11:30 a.m., police said negotiators were in contact with the hostage taker.
Members of the force’s tactical unit, the Spezialeinsatzkommando, or Special Task Force, had also been sent to the scene.
Less than 15 minutes later, the force said, “All clear! The hostage situation in Dresden is over!
“Two people are in our charge, apparently unarmed.”
It was not immediately clear whether the suspect had been arrested.
Stating that there is no longer a “dangerous situation”, the state police said the closure of the city center has been lifted, although the Altmarkt-Galerie remains closed.
Police have separately confirmed that the body of a 62-year-old woman was found in an apartment in the Prohlis neighborhood who was the mother of the suspect. 40.
Radio Dresden reported that an armed man attempted to enter the Ammonhof office building, where the radio station is located, at around 8:30 a.m. local time.
He would have fired his weapon before heading towards the Altmarkt-Galerie.
In a statement on Twitter, Radio Dresden said its offices were not “stormed” and that the attacker “killed his mother in Prohlis and probably wanted to be in the media”.
“He has now locked himself in the Altmarkt-Galerie with a hostage”.
In an earlier statement, the station said a police spokesperson said: “The man is mentally ill.
“The appropriate experts have therefore been consulted. The man must be persuaded to voluntarily give up and end the situation.
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