Germany

German airport closed after armed man breaches security with his car

The man also had a child with him and fired two shots into the air

FILE - 11 June 2023, Hamburg: View of Hamburg Airport
Bodo Marks/picture alliance via Getty Images

The airport in the northern German city of Hamburg was closed to passengers and flights were canceled Saturday night after a vehicle broke through security and entered the premises, the German news agency dpa reported.

Federal police said an armed man had broken through a gate with his vehicle and fired twice into the air with a weapon. Police also said the man’s wife had previously contacted them about a possible child abduction.

Police said later that the 35-year-old man had a 4-year-old child inside the car and that they assumed he was the father and had taken the child by force from the mother in a possible custody battle.

Federal police spokesman Thomas Gerbert told dpa that a large number of officers from state and federal police were on site and in the vicinity of the vehicle.

Police also said that a psychologist was talking with the man and that there was no indication other people could be harmed since all passengers had evacuated the airport.

Three Alaska Airlines passengers are claiming they suffered emotional distress after an off-duty pilot allegedly activated the emergency engine shutdown system last month.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
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