Berlin: Police free hostage after 11 hours in supermarket
Berlin police special forces stormed a supermarket in Marienfelde and freed an employee who had been held hostage by an armed man for approximately 11 hours. Both were injured during the incident.
Berlin: Police free hostage after 11 hours in supermarket
Berlin police special forces (SEK) stormed a supermarket in the Marienfelde district on Saturday morning and freed an employee who had been held hostage by an armed man for around eleven hours.
The incident began on Friday evening shortly before closing time on Hildburghauser Straße. According to employees, the man was the last customer in the shop around 22:00 when he refused to place his goods on the checkout conveyor. Suddenly he drew a large knife in front of the cashier, whereupon a 22-year-old colleague, Elijah C., fled and called for help.
The employee remained in the shop with the armed man while strong police forces sealed off the surrounding area. Special units, a negotiation team and police dogs rushed to the scene. Authorities attempted to persuade the perpetrator to surrender peacefully.
On Saturday morning, the operations commander decided to intervene dynamically, as the man appeared exhausted after many hours in the shop. The operation was completed within minutes. The perpetrator was incapacitated with a Taser, arrested and removed from the shop on a stretcher. The hostage was brought to safety under police protection.
According to information from Bild, the perpetrator and victim did not know each other, which supported the assessment that this was a random incident. Police confirmed that both were injured during the incident. Further details about their state of health are not yet available.
Source: ERTnews
Source: ERT