We are closing down this blog. A full wrap of what we know can be found here. Thank you for reading.
Eleven dead after Hanau shootings
Police have confirmed that they stormed the alleged suspect’s home and found him dead and another body.
Police also said another person has died from the first two shootings, taking the total dead in Hanau to 11.
After a shooting on Wednesday evening in Hanau... the alleged perpetrator was found dead. According to witnesses, the police received information about a fleeing vehicle, which could be found as part of the large-scale search in the Kesselstadt district. The home address there was blocked off extensively and searched by special police forces. Two other bodies were found. One of the dead people is most likely the culprit. There are currently no indications of other perpetrators. The number of victims who were fatally injured at the crime scenes in Heumarkt and Kurt-Schumacher-Platz increased to nine, so that there are currently a total of eleven deaths. Investigations into the identity of the victims and the suspected perpetrator are ongoing.
Updated
Suspect and one other person found dead – reports
The suspect and another person have been found dead, according to the Hessenschau news site.
Updated
Summary
This is what we know so far about the shootings in Hanau near Frankfurt in western Germany.
- Eight people are dead after shootings in the town, police said, in a short statement.
- Five people are also seriously injured.
- Police said a suspect fled one shooting in a “dark vehicle”.
- The hunt for the “perpetrators” was under way, police said, but they have not commented on reports that one man has been arrested.
- Police said there were “reports” of two separate shooting incidents. Local media say two shisha bars – the Midnight and the Arena Bar & Cafe – were targeted.
- Pictures of heavily armed officers and forensic investigators at two separate locations indicate that there were two shooting incidents about 2km apart.
- There was a huge police presence on the streets and a helicopter hovered above the town.
- There is no indication of motive for the attacks although the German tabloid Bild says some of the victims have a Kurdish background.
- The town’s MP has called it a “horrific scenario”.
Bild says victims of the attacks included young people and one woman. Some of the victims have a Kurdish background, the tabloid says.
My colleague Patrick Lum has kindly mapped the points where we think the shootings took place based on the pictures from Hanau and reports from German news outlets. See my last but one post for the details.
Hanau’s federal MP, Katja Leikert, has called the attack a “horrific scenario” in a tweet in which she gives her “heartfelt condolences” to the victims.
Hanau's local MP Katja Leikert (CDU):
— DW News (@dwnews) February 20, 2020
"On this terrible night in Hanau I send those close to the victims all my strength and heartfelt condolences. Hopefully the injured recover swiftly. It is a horrific scenario for us all. Thanks to emergency services."https://t.co/OfOhhrzMMp
It does appear that there were two separate shooting incidents, although the police have not confirmed that.
All the authorities have said so far is that there were “initial reports” of two shootings at around 10pm local time and that a suspect was seen leaving a shooting in Heumarkt – which German media reports say was the first of two – in a “dark vehicle”.
Pictures released by news wires show police at two different locations. The picture below shows a policeman outside the Domino Spielhalle which is in Steinheimer Strasse. That is around the corner from the Midnight bar in Heumarkt where local media reports the first shooting took place.
This next picture shows a car outside the Arena Bar & Cafe in Karlsbader Strasse, a little more than 2km away across the town, being inspected by police forensic officers. The bar is where local media say the second shooting took place.
Updated
'You could not imagine a worse evening' – Hanau mayor
There is still no word from police about the reports of an arrest but Bild has quoted the mayor of Hanau, Claus Kaminsky as saying “You could not imagine a worse evening”.
The video news agency Ruptly has tweeted two videos taken in Hanau tonight.
At least 8 dead, 5 injured after double shooting in #Hanau pic.twitter.com/MmTi4ZT79B
— Ruptly (@Ruptly) February 20, 2020
Mass shootings are comparatively rare in Germany although there have been a number in recent years with a mixture of motives.
- The most recent left six dead in the south-western town of Rot am See near Stuttgart. A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of killing six members of his family, including his parents.
- Two people were shot dead in Halle in eastern Germany after a far-right attacker tried to break into a synagogue. Several others were injured.
- A German-Iranian teenager killed nine people in the centre of Munich in July 2016 before turning the weapon on himself.
It is not illegal to own a gun in Germany but their sale is strictly controlled and require a licence to obtain legally.
Hanau is a large town in the western German state of Hesse, 25km east along the Main river from Frankfurt.
It has a population of around 100,000 people. Known for the precious metal industry, it is home to Heraeus, one of Germany’s largest private companies which specialises in precious metals and medical technology.
It is also the birthplace of the folklorists, the Brothers Grimm.
Here are some more pictures of the scene in Hanau tonight.
One suspect arrested – reports
German media are reporting that a suspect has been arrested but the police have not made any comment on that yet.
The mass-market newspaper Bild says one man has been arrested but that has not been confirmed by police.
Bild also says there were two separate attacks. The first shooting occurred at the Midnight shisha bar in Heumarkt in the town centre. Then there was a second attack at the Arena Bar & Cafe in Karlsbader Strasse.
The Hessenschau regional broadcaster also reports that there were two shootings with three killed in the first attack and five killed in the second.
It also says a suspect has been arrested.
🔴🔴🔴 #Hanau pic.twitter.com/nSHXFGHVcH
— Diego (@dpr_00) February 19, 2020
Dude a guy in my little hometown Hanau Germany started shooting and already killed 7 people wtf is happening take care of each other guys!! #hanau #kesselstadt #amoklauf #mainkinzigkreis pic.twitter.com/72V7s8LUgH
— EmrePTV (@EmrePtv) February 19, 2020
Varias personas resultaron muertas hoy en dos tiroteos ocurridos en la ciudad alemana de #Hanau.
— Diario 2001 (@2001OnLine) February 20, 2020
Las fuentes policiales no han concretado por el momento el número de víctimas, mientras que el diario @BILD habla de ocho muertos y cinco heridos graves. #Alemania
Video cortesía pic.twitter.com/QTEiYdkxw0
We can see from photographs already published by news wires and from television footage that there is a huge police opperation under way in the small town, which is close to Germany’s financial hub, Frankfurt.
Updated
'Search for perpetrators in full swing' – police
Police in Hanau have released a statement about what they have described as a “gunfight” in the town. It confirms that eight people are dead and that the suspect or suspects are still at large.
As we just reported, there were gun shots in Hanau on Wednesday evening, around 10pm, in which several people were injured. According to the latest findings, the police can now confirm that eight people were fatally injured. The search for the perpetrators is in full swing. There is still no reliable knowledge of the background. The criminal police are still asking for information under the number 06181 100-123.
Details are sketchy at the moment but we have an initial report on our site already.
You can read it here:
Welcome to our rolling coverage of a shooting in the German town of Hanau near Frankfurt on Wednesday night.
This what we know so far:
- Suspects opened fire in Hanau, 25km of Frankfurt, at around 10pm killing at least eight people, police said.
- Several have been injured.
- Police are hunting the suspects.
- Media reports say the suspect or suspects opened fire on a shisha bar in the town.
- News and TV pictures showed the town was swamped with heavily armed officers.
- The Hessenschau regional broadcaster said a second shisha bar had been attacked but that has not been confirmed by police.
Updated
