Man holds his daughter hostage at Hamburg airport. German police give a statement
A man is reportedly holding his daughter hostage at Hamburg airport. Armed with a firearm and potentially explosive devices of an unidentified type, the German police announced the situation on Sunday.
Negotiations are ongoing with the armed man who crashed his car into the airport gate at Hamburg on Saturday evening and entered the runway. He has held his 4-year-old daughter hostage in the car.
"The negotiation team is maintaining contact with the 35-year-old. The man has not made any financial demands", said police spokesperson Sandra Levgruen during an interview with the DPA agency.
German police expressed their primary concern for the child's safety on the X portal (formerly Twitter). They said, "Our current findings suggest that the child is in a good physical condition. Negotiations will continue."
Man causes fire on the runway and fires shots
After gaining access to the airport site, the man threw two fire-lit bottles from the car window. “It was something akin to a Molotov cocktail,” noted Thomas Gerbert, federal police spokesperson.
The fire was promptly put out, however, due to the threat of reignition, firefighters continued to douse the car with water. As reported by the "Bild" newspaper, the man fired multiple shots from his vehicle before barricading himself inside. Though no damage occurred, "the airport fire brigade managed to extinguish the fire", according to the reports.
The police suggest that a disagreement over child custody may be the man's motive. Hamburg airport remains closed to traffic.
