Six killed at mothers and children's welfare centre in Stade as custody dispute turns deadly

A gunman killed six people at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade on Monday 29 June, opening fire during a custody hearing for his three-month-old daughter in what officials described as an act of extreme family violence with no political motive.

The shooting began at around 12:10 local time at the facility on Dankersstrasse, which provides supervised accommodation for pregnant women and young mothers with children. Five people — four women and one man — died at the scene; a sixth died later in hospital. All six were either employees of the facility or of the Jugendamt, the local youth welfare office.

A seventh person was wounded and later in stable condition, a police spokesman told AFP.

Custody meeting turns deadly

Lüneburg police president Kathrin Schuol said at a press conference that the suspected shooter had a custody dispute over his three-month-old daughter and had arrived at the facility for a scheduled appointment to discuss the matter. His wife and the child, who were living at the facility following a previous court ruling, were present but not injured.

The girl's mother told police after the shooting that she was no longer in a relationship with the suspect, Schuol said.

The suspect was previously known to police and had made threats in the past, but "has not previously been regarded as a particularly violent individual," Schuol said. She said the suspect did not have a firearms licence, and it remains unclear how he obtained the weapon. He lives in Hanover, about 200 kilometres to the south.

Chase and arrest

The suspect attempted to flee in a car driven by a 55-year-old woman believed to have "a close connection to the gunman's family" but was captured after a short chase, according to Schuol. The two fled along the B73 road outside city limits before police shot out one of the car's tyres. Police opened fire on the car but neither the suspected gunman nor the driver were hurt. Both are being held in police custody.

Officers recovered a weapon from the car. The child's 34-year-old mother was also taken into custody for questioning, while the unharmed infant was placed in the care of youth welfare authorities.

No political motive, say officials

Lower Saxony Interior Minister Daniela Behrens told reporters the shooting appeared to have been "committed for family reasons." She called it "an act of violence carried out in an extremely cold-blooded manner, with no political or economic motives."

Investigators ruled out organised crime, political extremism and femicide, with Lüneburg police describing the shooting as an "extended familial tragedy."

The shootings took place near a daycare centre and a primary school, said city councillor Carsten Brokelmann. Children who were at the daycare and primary school at the time of the shooting were subsequently collected by their parents, a city spokesperson said.

German public broadcasters NDR and WDR reported, citing sources, that the suspect may have ties to the Miri clan, a criminal network active in Lower Saxony, Bremen and Berlin. Police stated at the press conference, however, that they had no information confirming a connection to organised crime.

Context

Germany has some of Europe's strictest gun laws, requiring anyone under 25 to pass a psychiatric examination before applying for a firearms licence, but mass shootings still occur. In March 2023, a disgruntled former Jehovah's Witness member shot dead six people from the group's congregation in Hamburg before turning the gun on himself.

Stade has around 50,000 inhabitants and is located about 40 kilometres from Hamburg. Police said there was no continuing threat to the public.