ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Turkish national opened fire at a child welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade on Monday, killing six people in one of the deadliest shootings the country has seen in recent years.
According to Stade police spokesperson Matthias Bekermann, the attack took place on a road on the outskirts of the city, telling Rudaw's Zinar Shino on Tuesday that the suspect was arrested shortly after the attack.
"During this incident, unfortunately six people were killed; six people, all over 18 years old; four women and two men. The suspect believed to have carried out the shooting is a 45-year-old man, born in Germany, holding Turkish citizenship, and resides in the area around Hanover," Bekermann said.
Investigators say the attacker had an appointment that day, along with many of the victims, to discuss custody arrangements for his three-month-old daughter. Both the child and her mother were present at the scene but were not injured by gunfire. The victims were all child welfare workers, according to authorities.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered his condolences to the victims of the shooting.
Germany maintains some of Europe's strictest gun laws.
The shooting has left residents of Stade shaken. Hevind Dara Amoka, an engineering graduate born in the city to a family originally from northeast Syria (Rojava), described the toll the attack has taken on the community.
"We were very much hurt by the incident," Amoka said. "We live in fear and hope that such a thing will never happen again in our city and in the world. Six people were killed, but it hurt the whole city."
Investigations at the scene are ongoing, and the ages and identities of the victims have not yet been disclosed.
