German police have captured a suspcted gunman nicknamed "Rambo" after a five-day manhunt in the country's Black Forest.
Officers finally arrested Yves Rausch, 31, on Friday after he reportedly fled into the forest near Oppenau, in south-west Germany. He is said to have threatened four police officers and taken their guns last weekend.
“After several days of searching for Yves Rausch, who had gone underground in the woods around Oppenau, the police succeeded in making a provisional arrest of the 31-year-old,” police said in a statement.
Officers also seized four firearms following the arrest, the statement added.
Rausch was eventually discovered thanks to a tip-off from a postal worker, Germany's Bild newspaper reported.
His arrest came after police on Sunday were called to a forest hut on the outskirts of Oppenau, in Baden-Württemberg, over reported sightings of a “suspicious” figure in combat gear said to be carrying a bow and arrows.
The suspect was said to have initially co-operated with officers arriving at the scene before later pulling out a pistol on them and disarming the four. Nobody was injured in the incident.
He subsequently fled into the forest, prompting officials to deploy an elite police unit, helicopters, thermal detectors and sniffer dogs in a bid to find him.
It is believed Rausch had been living outdoors for some time prior to his capture but it remains unclear whether there was any motive for his disarming of the four police officers.
Prosecutors described the suspect as a “weapons enthusiast” but said he was banned from possessing weapons and ammunition in 2010 and had never been in a shooting club.
Rausch lost his apartment last fall and has had no permanent address since then, according to authorities. Officials said they don’t know what prompted Rausch to act the way he did.
His mother said he had gone to stay at an aunt's house before making a home for himself in a hut in the forest. She said "he wanted to escape into nature, to be free".
She explained that he grew his own vegetables and also carved wooden gnomes which he hoped to sell.
Local media reports had nicknamed him "Rambo" after the fictional, violent Vietnam war veteran who goes on the run from US police.
