Deadly shooting in Germany as gunman kills six at shelter for women, children

A deadly shooting at a shelter for mothers and children in northern Germany has left six people dead after a 45-year-old man reportedly involved in a child custody dispute opened fire during a scheduled visit to the facility.

The attack occurred on Monday, June 29, 2026, in the town of Stade, near the northern port city of Hamburg, where the suspect had reportedly arrived for an appointment before allegedly pulling out a firearm and shooting staff members at the shelter.

Authorities said all six victims were employees of the facility, comprising four women and two men, according to Reuters.

Five were pronounced dead at the scene, while a sixth victim later succumbed to injuries at a hospital.

Officials confirmed that the suspect’s three-month-old daughter and the child’s mother were unharmed.

The gunman has been taken into custody alongside the child’s mother and another woman as investigators continue to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the attack, expressing shock that such extreme violence occurred at a facility established to protect vulnerable women and children.

“I’m deeply shocked by the extent of violence in a place that is meant to provide protection,” the president was quoted as saying.

Following the shooting, police sealed off the area surrounding the shelter, which is located on a cobbled residential street lined with red-brick homes.

Forensic investigators reportedly examined the crime scene as detectives continued gathering evidence on Monday evening.

Authorities initially urged residents to avoid the area but later announced there was no ongoing threat to the public.

Armed police intercepted and arrested two occupants of a vehicle with a flat tyre shortly after the shooting.

Investigators said the suspect resides in the Hannover region, and that he was born in Germany and is of Turkish descent.

While mass shootings remain relatively uncommon in Germany, the country has witnessed several high-profile attacks in recent years, including the 2023 shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Hamburg that claimed six lives before the gunman took his own life, and the 2016 Munich shooting in which a teenage gunman killed nine people.

Authorities have not yet disclosed a motive beyond indicating that the suspect was involved in an apparent child custody dispute.