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Hamburg airport closed after armed man drives through gates

November 4, 2023

Police said that the wife of the man who drove the car through the airport gates had contacted them earlier about a possible child abduction.

https://p.dw.com/p/4YPPo
Police vehicles and ambulances are parked at Hamburg Airport
A large police force is deployed at Hamburg Airport, where a man broke through the gates in a carImage: Jonas Walzberg/dpa/picture alliance

For the latest on the Hamburg airport hostage situation, pleae click here. 

The airport of the city of Hamburg was closed on Saturday night after an armed man drove a vehicle through the gate, German media reported.

The suspect allegedly shot the weapon twice in the air, German newspaper Die Welt said, citing a police spokesperson.

Police also said that the man's wife had contacted them earlier about a possible child abduction.

"We are currently assuming a static hostage situation," Hamburg police wrote on X, previously known as Twitter.

In the meantime, a police spokesman confirmed that there was a 4-year-old girl in the man's car, which was parked under an airplane. 

Police added later that they believe "a custody dispute is behind this operation." 

According to federal police spokesman Thomas Gerbert, a large number of state and federal police officers were on the scene.

dh/jsi (dpa, AP, Reuters)