The suspect had been hiding on the tarmac since Saturday evening as part of a likely family conflict. He held his daughter hostage. He was arrested.
The hostage-taking at Hamburg airport has ended, German police announced on Sunday, November 3rd. The suspect is suspected of kidnapping his daughter in the context of a family conflict, surrendered and was arrested. According to the authorities, he did not offer any “resistance”.
“The hostage-taking has ended, the man left the car with his daughter and was arrested by the police without resistance,” local police said on X (formerly Twitter), saying that the child “appears to be in good health.”
The little girl was kidnapped from her mother’s house
This hostage-taking, which was related to a conflict with the mother over custody of the little girl, began on Saturday evening at around 8 p.m. local time. The 35-year-old man held his four-year-old daughter in a car parked at the foot of a Turkish Airlines plane for about 18 hours after forcing his way into the airport while firing shots.
He wanted to try to travel to Turkey with his daughter, whom he had previously kidnapped from his wife’s house.
German police conducted long negotiations throughout the night and part of Sunday to persuade the father, who was armed and suspected of possessing explosives, to surrender. Air traffic at Hamburg Airport was suspended on Saturday evening and should remain suspended on Sunday until further notice.
In addition to intervention units, the police also mobilized psychologists and negotiation teams on site.