‘Hostage situation’: gunman with child in car shuts down airport in Hamburg, Germany
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‘Hostage situation’: gunman with child in car shuts down airport in Hamburg, Germany
Airport terminal buildings in the northern German city of Hamburg have been evacuated, along with several aircraft, after an armed man in a car with a child passenger drove onto the apron, an airport spokeswoman said on Saturday evening.
“We are currently assuming this is a hostage situation,” a spokesman for the Hamburg police told dpa.
According to the federal police, an armed man broke through a gate with his vehicle at around 8pm and drove onto the airport apron. He had a gun and had already fired it twice into the air, according to federal police spokesman Thomas Gerbert.
It has since been confirmed that there is a child in the car with the man. It was unclear whether there was a second child in the vehicle, as initially suspected.
The man’s wife had previously contacted the state police about a possible child abduction, according to the spokesman.
He said there is a heavy state and federal police presence on site, with units deployed close to the vehicle in question. They included the federal police’s evidence and arrest unit.
“They are very robustly equipped,” Gerbert said.
The airport’s website stated in the evening: “Due to a federal police action, take-offs and landings are currently not possible.”
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The airport spokeswoman said the airport is officially closed as of 8.24pm until the end of operations at 11pm. Six take-offs and 21 landings would normally have been expected in this period.
In October authorities closed the same airport due to an attack threat on a flight from Tehran to Hamburg.
In July, climate activists from the Last Generation group paralysed the airport for hours.
Flight operations had to be suspended for several hours for security reasons. Thousands of passengers, including many families with children, were affected.
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