Hostage-taking in Berlin-Schoeneberg ended – SEK storms business

2023-04-25 03:40:55

Dhe hostage-taking in a shop in Berlin-Schoeneberg came to a bloody end early Tuesday morning. Special forces broke into the store on Keithstrasse shortly after half past two, the police said on Twitter. According to the police, the perpetrator committed suicide while the hostage was unharmed. According to a dpa photographer, the woman, who had been in the man’s power for hours, was led to an ambulance. Another woman had previously been rescued “from the danger area,” a police spokesman said. It was initially unclear whether she was injured.

“I can confirm that the mission has ended,” said the spokesman for the German Press Agency early Tuesday morning. The first emergency calls to a raid on the shop in Schöneberg on Monday around 5.30 p.m. triggered the large-scale operation not far from Wittenbergplatz. The area between Kurfürstenstrasse, Kleiststrasse and Keithstrasse was cordoned off for hours.

In addition to SEK officers, ambulances and paramedics also rushed to the crime scene. Shortly after their arrival, the emergency services were able to arrest another man “relatively early”, as the police spokesman said. Whether it was an accomplice of the hostage-taker is now the subject of the investigation. Both men were armed.

During the operation, the police asked via Twitter not to publish any photos of what was happening at the crime scene: “We urgently ask passers-by, local residents and press representatives not to publish any pictures of our emergency services and operations in Schöneberg during the ongoing operation. This can hinder the operation and endanger the people involved.”