Hostage-taking in Berlin supermarket: Special unit frees woman
A man took a woman hostage on Friday evening in a Rewe supermarket in Berlin-Marienfelde. Police special units freed the woman on Saturday morning and arrested the perpetrator.
Hostage-taking in Berlin supermarket: Special unit frees woman
Special units of the Berlin police freed a woman from a hostage situation in a supermarket on Saturday morning at around 9.20 a.m. The perpetrator was arrested, with officers employing a Taser.
The incident occurred in a Rewe supermarket in the Marienfelde district in south Berlin. A man had taken the woman hostage in the shop on Friday evening after 10 p.m. According to police spokesman Florian Nath, the woman was in a state of shock; emergency services treated her on the spot and subsequently took her to hospital. No one was seriously injured in the hostage drama. The arrested man suffered minor injuries during the police operation and was also taken to hospital.
The investigation revealed that the man and the woman did not know each other beforehand. During the operation, officers managed to make contact with the perpetrator. He made several demands that were difficult to understand and did not suggest a carefully planned act. The motive for the hostage-taking remains unknown.
A 22-year-old supermarket employee reported that he had escorted customers out shortly before closing time when a man pulled a large knife. Together with a colleague, he fled the building and alerted the police. According to his account, the hostage was also an employee of the shop and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
During the operation, police cordoned off Hildburghauser Straße in the area around the supermarket. The authorities emphasised that local residents were not in danger. Several supermarket employees waited behind the police cordon until the woman was freed.
Source: 444.hu / MTI
Source: 444