Police seal off city center in Germany following ‘hostage situation’

A gunman broke into a shopping center in the eastern city of Dresden

German police have evacuated a shopping mall and closed off a Christmas market in the eastern city of Dresden as officers respond to a “hostage situation.”

Police said officers have been deployed in the area surrounding the Altmarkt-Galerie shopping center. Photos from the scene show heavily armed officers in the mall. Police said they were in contact with the suspect, and that a negotiation team is on site.

According to Bild newspaper, a 40-year-old gunman killed a 70-year-old woman on Saturday morning. He then reportedly tried to break into a local radio station while firing a handgun. It is understood that the suspect shot through the door of the main entrance to the office of Radio Dresden, but failed to enter the building. He reportedly later fled to the mall. The paper said he had hidden in a drugstore, where he took hostages.

Head of Radio Dresden, Tino Utassy, told Bild that its employees were unharmed.

Radio Dresden, meanwhile, reported that an armed man had first broken into an office building near the station before firing shots. The radio station said emergency services had discovered the body of a 62-year-old woman in one of the city’s apartment blocks. It added that police believe the gunman is the woman’s 40-year-old son.