A man barricaded himself in an apartment in the Höchsten district of the German city of Dortmund and took his three children hostage after injuring a police officer, DPA and “Bild“ reported. The attacker is a 51-year-old Serbian citizen, “Bild“ wrote. His motives are unknown at this stage.
Previously, the same man went on a rampage in a restaurant, using a baton, threatening passersby and spraying people with pepper spray, then fled in a car.
When police arrived at a residential building with commercial premises in the Höchsten district on a call from a woman, the man came out of the building and opened fire on one of the employees, possibly with a small-caliber pistol. “The bullet hit the protective vest of one of the police officers. According to preliminary data, the officer suffered minor injuries“, a police spokesman said.
After the shooting, the attacker returned to the building, where he is reportedly holding his three children hostage.
A large number of police officers were sent to the scene. A team of negotiators from the special forces also arrived in the area, and after several hours of midnight negotiations, they managed to convince the man to surrender and release the children. They are unharmed.