The taking of hostages atairport Hamburg, in northern Germany, ended about 18 hours after a man walked through the airport gates with his four-year-old daughter as a passenger, authorities said. The man was arrested and the girl is safe.
An armed man crashed his car through an airport security gate and drove onto the tarmac near crowded passenger planes. He fired a gun twice into the air, according to German news agency dpa while holding his four-year-old daughter hostage. As heavily armed police evacuated the airport and locked down the area, Hamburg Airport suspended all flight operations.
After passing through the security gate, the man drove his Audi near a plane Turkish Airlines, which was parked in front of a door on Saturday evening. The 35-year-old man, a Turkish citizen according to police, who forcibly took the girl from her mother as part of a custody battle, reportedly asked to be allowed to travel to Türkiye. A psychologist then negotiated with the man for several hours before he surrendered.
On Sunday evening, police released details about the identity of the hostage taker, saying he was already under investigation for allegedly kidnapping his daughter in March 2022. At the time, he had traveled to Turkey with her daughter without permission, but the mother was then able to bring the child back to Germany. Police did not release the suspect’s name, in line with German confidentiality rules.
