Police have evacuated a shopping mall and the surrounding area in the eastern German city of Dresden due to a hostage situation.
A statement on the police’s website read: “The Dresden Police Department is currently carrying out an operation in downtown Dresden. The background is the suspicion of a hostage situation.”
German newspaper Bild reported that an armed man had killed a woman, then stormed a local radio station and fired shots before fleeing into a shopping mall where he took several hostages.
On its website, Radio Dresden said that earlier a man that an armed man had entered the Ammonhof office building, where the radio station is located, around 8.30am local time (07.30 GMT) and that shots had been fired.
Police are yet to confirm these precise details but urged citizens to avoid the city centre. The famous Striezelmarkt Christmas market will also remain closed for the time being.
Police have confirmed that they are in contact with the perpetrator. Radio Dresden writes that the suspect is in a room in the Altmarktgalerie, a shopping centre in Dresden, after fleeing from the scene in the direction of the old town,
The Radio’s website says that the hostage-taking is in connection with the death of a 62-year-old woman in an apartment building in Prohlis, Dresden.
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“Emergency services found a lifeless 62-year-old woman in an apartment building in Prohlis. An emergency doctor who was called could only determine her death,” the website reads.
“According to the police, the suspect is the woman’s 40-year-old German son.
“The Dresden police department is currently conducting an operation to suspect a hostage-taking in Dresden’s Altmarktgalerie, which is obviously related to the homicide.”
In a statement posted to Twitter, police confirmed the hostage situation is over, with two apparently unharmed individuals in their care.
Radio Dresden reported that police spokesman Thomas Geithner gave an official press statement on the operation. He confirmed that the death of the 62-year-old woman in Prohlis is directly related to the incident in the Altmarktgalerie.
“According to Geithner, the man is behaving mentally. Appropriate experts were therefore consulted. The man should be persuaded to give up voluntarily and end the situation,” the radio reported.
“In this respect, the situation is under control, Geithner continued with no acute risk for visitors to Dresden.”
