Police and rescuers work at the scene where five people were killed in a shooting in Stade, northern Germany, a city some 50 kilometres west of Hamburg, on June 29, 2026.
Ibrahim OT / AFP via Getty Images
Five people were fatally shot outside a youth welfare centre in a town in northern Germany on Monday, according to police.
Two people have been detained, including the suspected shooter.
A motive for the incident, which happened in Stade, a town about 50 kilometres west of the city of Hamburg, was not immediately clear, a police spokesperson told Reuters.
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The role of the second individual suspected of being involved is unclear, a second police spokesperson told Reuters, adding that no other suspects were at large.
Just after the incident, police told residents to stay away from the area, which investigators had cordoned off.
Police later said there was no danger to the public.
Forensic Police officers work near the scene where five people were killed in a shooting in Stade, northern Germany, a city some 50 kilometres west of Hamburg, on June 29, 2026.
Photo by Ibrahim OT / AFP via Getty Images
Mass shootings are uncommon in Germany, though there have been several notable cases in recent years.
In 2023, a gunman in Hamburg shot dead six people before killing himself at a Jehovah’s Witness worship hall. In 2016, an 18-year-old German-Iranian man who was obsessed with mass killings killed at least nine people in Munich.
— This is a developing story; check back for updates.
— with files from Reuters
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