The report of a kidnapping in the middle of the city center causes horror in the pre-Christmas period of Dresden. The hostage-taker had apparently previously killed his mother, and he also died during the arrest. Investigators say the most likely motive is mental illness. Where the man got a gun from is unclear.
Was it targeted attacks that shocked Dresden this Saturday? After the hostage-taking in the Saxon capital, the police are looking for answers to many open questions. So far, it is unclear why the perpetrator had a gun. So far, the police have not given any further details about the course of the arrest. The man first killed his mother on Saturday, then fired on rooms at a radio station and took two hostages in a downtown shopping mall. He was then fatally injured when the police took hold of him. The first crime scene on Saturday morning was an apartment building in the Prohlis district of Dresden. According to the police, the 40-year-old had killed his 62-year-old mother there. Around 7:20 a.m., the police found the lifeless woman.
The man then tried to break into the Radio Dresden studio. The man tried to destroy a door, said the station’s managing director, Tino Utassy. After he failed to get into the rooms, he shot through a hole in the door. “Fortunately, the staff had the presence of mind and then ran out through a second exit and fled,” Utassy said. According to the broadcaster, all were unharmed. The perpetrator left the building after the shots were fired.
The third crime scene was the Dresden Altmarkt gallery. There, according to the police, the man took an employee and a child hostage. The police evacuated the mall and adjacent areas. Several people were accommodated in a bus of the Dresden transport company and were cared for there. The famous Striezelmarkt also remained closed for the time being – it only reopened in the early afternoon.
A police spokesman explained the motive of the alleged perpetrator that the man had been very conspicuous in his mental behavior. “We’re most likely assuming a mental illness.” Other than that, the police were not aware of anything. The police kept a low profile on the details of the investigation.
Saxony’s Minister of the Interior, Armin Schuster, thanked the emergency services for their quick and prudent action. He was appalled by the act of a presumably mentally disturbed lone perpetrator and relieved that the police were able to free the two hostages unharmed. Dresden’s Lord Mayor Dirk Hilbert was concerned and also thanked the emergency services. “This act shows how fragile pre-Christmas contemplation and light-heartedness can be,” said the FDP politician.
