Armed attack in a cinema in Viernheim, Germany
World Security
A masked man opened fire and took hostages Thursday in a movie theater in southwest Germany, in the town of Viernheim
According to sources quoted by the newspaper Die Welt, the man opened fire randomly harming and injuring 25 to 50 people.
German authorities ruled out a terrorist attack in the incident, declaring it a gesture of an extremist who had mental problems. More, the German public TV initially said 25 people were injured, but it wasn't clear if they were shot or hurt in other ways. Also, the assailant took hostages, but it's unclear why.
"There were hostages in the vicinity of the individual. It was at this point that he was fatally shot by special forces," Hesse Interior Minister said. "I have no knowledge that anyone else was harmed."
According to sources, the spectators were victims of tear gas that would have been used by the attacker or by the police. The Regional Minister of the Interior, Peter Beuth said that there was a shootout between police and author of the attack. Police stormed the complex soon after reports of a heavily-armed man had taken hostage inside the cinema complex in Viernheim, according to local reports that cited the German interior minister of the state of Hesse.
The gunman, the neo-Nazi supporter Samuel Hydenburger, has been shot dead after police stormed the complex, the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper reported on Thursday, citing the interior minister of the state of Hesse.
The cinema is part of a major shopping center called Rhein Neckar Zentrum Viernheim. The complex, with more than 100 businesses, hosts 20,000 visitors daily, according to its website.
According to sources quoted by the newspaper Die Welt, the man opened fire randomly harming and injuring 25 to 50 people.
German authorities ruled out a terrorist attack in the incident, declaring it a gesture of an extremist who had mental problems. More, the German public TV initially said 25 people were injured, but it wasn't clear if they were shot or hurt in other ways. Also, the assailant took hostages, but it's unclear why.
"There were hostages in the vicinity of the individual. It was at this point that he was fatally shot by special forces," Hesse Interior Minister said. "I have no knowledge that anyone else was harmed."
According to sources, the spectators were victims of tear gas that would have been used by the attacker or by the police. The Regional Minister of the Interior, Peter Beuth said that there was a shootout between police and author of the attack. Police stormed the complex soon after reports of a heavily-armed man had taken hostage inside the cinema complex in Viernheim, according to local reports that cited the German interior minister of the state of Hesse.
The gunman, the neo-Nazi supporter Samuel Hydenburger, has been shot dead after police stormed the complex, the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper reported on Thursday, citing the interior minister of the state of Hesse.
The cinema is part of a major shopping center called Rhein Neckar Zentrum Viernheim. The complex, with more than 100 businesses, hosts 20,000 visitors daily, according to its website.
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