Germany Airport Hostage Standoff Ends After Nearly 16 Hours, Man Arrested

A hostage crisis that shut the Hamburg airport in Germany ended after dragging for nearly 16 hours, the police said. A 35-year-old man took his 4-year-old daughter hostage and drove to the airport.

The Hamburg police, in its latest update, said the hostage situation is over and the suspect and his daughter got out of the car. The man was arrested by the emergency services without resistance, adding that the girl was unharmed.

Update:
Die Geisellage ist beendet.
Der Tatverdächtige hatte zusammen mit seiner Tochter das Auto verlassen.
Der Mann wurde widerstandslos von den Einsatzkräften festgenommen.
Das Kind scheint unverletzt zu sein.#HamburgAirport #Hamburg @HamburgAirport

— Polizei Hamburg (@PolizeiHamburg) November 5, 2023

The Hostage Situation

At around 2 am (IST) today, a gunman rammed his car through the security gates of the Hamburg airport, firing two shots in the air and flinging two burning bottles out of the vehicle, a police spokesman said.

The police said two individuals were inside the car - A 35-year-old man and a 4-year-old girl and the vehicle was parked under a plane. The cops believe that the hostage situation likely involved a custody battle. Police said the girl's mother earlier told them the father had been in contact with her.

The wife of the driver had placed an emergency call alerting police to the abduction of her child, the spokesman added.

According to NDR, a Germany-based news portal, the girl was staying with her mother in Stage. Yesterday, the 35-year-old man from Buxtehude "forcibly snatched" the woman's daughter.

A Turkish Airlines plane along with aircraft from other airlines have been evacuated, DW reported. Authorities have cleared the terminal buildings and over 3,000 passengers were affected after over 60 flights were cancelled today due to the ongoing standoff.

The Hamburg police earlier said a large contingent of emergency services was present at the airport, adding that psychologists as well as officers specialised in negotiations were on site and that they were in contact with the individual in the vehicle.

With inputs from AFP, Reuters