UPDATE
Nov 5, 2023 8:29 AM CST
The hostage situation at Hamburg Airport ended Sunday afternoon, around 18 hours after a man drove his vehicle through the gates of the airport with his 4-year-old daughter inside, authorities said. The man was arrested and the girl appears to be unharmed, reports the AP. Hamburg police tweeted that "the hostage situation is over. The suspect has left the car with his daughter. ... The child appears to be unharmed." Police also said that "the man was arrested by the emergency services without resistance." The airport had been closed to passengers and flights canceled since Saturday night when the man, who was armed, broke through an airport gate with his vehicle and fired twice into the air with a weapon, according to German news agency dpa. The man drove the vehicle just outside a terminal building and parked it under a plane. A psychologist had negotiated with the man for 18 hours. Nobody was injured during the standoff since all passengers had evacuated the airport, police said.
Nov 5, 2023 6:05 AM CST
German police advised travelers on Sunday not to use Hamburg airport due to a developing hostage situation. The airport in the northern part of the city has been closed to passengers and flights canceled since Saturday night when an armed man broke through an airport gate with his vehicle and fired twice into the air with a weapon, according to German news agency dpa. Authorities also said the man's wife had previously contacted them about a child abduction. Police said that the 35-year-old man had his 4-year-old daughter inside the car whom he had reportedly taken by force from the mother in a possible custody battle. A psychologist has been negotiating with the man for hours and there was no indication other people could be harmed since all passengers had evacuated the airport, police said.
"We must currently assume that he is in possession of a live firearm and possibly also explosive devices of an unknown type," police wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Our top priority is to protect the child. According to our current knowledge, the child is physically well," they added. The mother of the abducted girl also arrived at the airport and was getting psychological support, German news agency dpa reported. "The mother naturally wants to get to her child as quickly as possible," Malte Stueben, the head of the German Red Cross crisis intervention team in Hamburg, told dpa. A pediatrician also arrived at the airport to look after the girl once the hostage-taking is over, dpa reported. On Sunday morning, 126 flights were canceled and five planes were rerouted. Thousands of travelers have been affected by the standoff and hundreds were put up at hotels close by.
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