Police have arrested a father who rammed his car into a security gate and threw Molotov cocktails onto a Hamburg airport runway while holding his four-year-old daughter hostage in his car.
The situation lasted almost 18 hours as negotiations with the 35-year-old continued throughout the night and German officials closed the busy airport.
Hamburg police added that the released child appeared to be unharmed and the arrest occurred without resistance. Hamburg Airport will remain closed during the ongoing investigation and flight operations will be suspended indefinitely until further notice.
Authorities believed the horrific ordeal was sparked by a “custody dispute.” The gunman’s distraught wife reported a possible child abduction, with the young girl allegedly being forcibly abducted by her mother.
Yesterday evening the gunman, who according to German newspaper Bild was a Turkish citizen, plowed through an airport barrier in his Audi at around 8pm local time (7pm GMT).
He fired a gun twice and then threw two burning bottles out of the vehicle, police said. The driver then barricaded himself at the foot of a Turkish Airlines plane.
The 35-year-old father is said to have rammed his Audi into the airport around 8 p.m. local time last night and used it to barricade himself at the foot of a Turkish Airlines plane. Pictured: Negotiations are underway this morning
Police took a photo this morning near the runway of the man left in his car with a four-year-old girl
Officers from the German BFE police unit stand on the apron at Hamburg airport while passengers are evacuated
On X, formerly known as Twitter, the Hamburg police announced: “The hostage-taking is over.” The suspect got out of the car with his daughter. The man was arrested by the emergency services without resistance. The child appears to be unharmed.’
The airport added: “The situation at the airport remains unchanged, police operations continue.” Flight operations will remain suspended indefinitely until further notice.”
Last night the airport was quickly closed and 3,200 passengers were reportedly evacuated from planes parked on the runway.
This morning police psychologists were at the airport trying to negotiate a solution with the driver. The officers had communicated with the man through a translator who spoke Turkish.
Access roads to the airport were closed and the public was warned to stay away from all terminals during negotiations.
Police reiterated that traffic measures around the huge airport remain in place and entry into the airport remains impossible.
In an earlier update this morning, officers said they believed the man was “in possession of a live firearm and possibly explosive devices of an unknown nature.”
“Our top priority is to protect the child,” police said this morning. “According to our current findings, the child is doing well physically.”
Police vehicles and ambulances arrive at the scene of the accident at Hamburg Airport
After the shocking incident, special forces are arriving at Hamburg airport this evening
This morning the Hamburg police and the Hamburg airport announced that the airport was still closed because negotiations with the father were still ongoing. The situation has been going on for more than 12 hours now
The mother of the kidnapped girl arrived at the airport today and is receiving psychological care, the dpa reported.
“The mother of course wants to get to her child as quickly as possible,” said Malte Stüben, head of the crisis intervention team of the German Red Cross in Hamburg, to the dpa.
A pediatrician also arrived at the airport to look after the girl after she was taken hostage, the news agency reported.
Hundreds of people whose flights could not take off on Saturday evening due to the situation were accommodated in nearby hotels.
Incoming planes were either diverted to other German airports or canceled.
Police spokeswoman Sandra Levgrun told NDR that it was assumed that a father and his child were in the car.
She called it a “very good sign” that he had remained in contact with authorities over a long period of time.
The incident has caused significant and ongoing disruption at one of Europe’s busiest airports.
On Saturday evening alone, 17 flights bound for Hamburg were diverted. A further 286 flights with around 34,500 passengers are planned for today.
Currently 61 flights – 34 departures and 27 arrivals – have been canceled, with more expected throughout the day.
A police car observes the hostage taker’s car parked under the Turkish Airlines plane
Police gather at the airport this morning as the hostage crisis continues
In the photo, police officers stood in front of Hamburg Airport while passengers were evacuated
After reports of a “hostage situation,” police vehicles closed the access road to Hamburg Airport.
Passengers were evacuated from Hamburg Airport today after a gunman drove through the airport at around 8pm local time
In the photo you could see police vehicles blocking the entrance to Hamburg Airport
After firing the shots, the man threw two lit bottles out of the vehicle. Footage showed fires on the tarmac
Armed police patrol the airport as passengers are evacuated
Police guard the scene of a security breach at Hamburg Airport after a vehicle broke through
Fire brigade vehicles reach a safety location at Hamburg Airport. Flights were canceled
Firefighters, rescue workers and police officers stand in front of Hamburg airport while the police deal with a “hostage situation”.
Yesterday evening, numerous state and federal police officers were on site and in the vicinity of the vehicle, federal police spokesman Thomas Gerbert told the German Press Agency.
Police said no one appeared to be injured, but the airport said it was currently closed to takeoffs and landings.
Bild reported that the shooter drove in front of Terminal 1 in an Audi without a license plate.
The driver initially sped away, but a few minutes later broke through a security barrier at the north gate and drove towards the planes.
He is said to have started fires in the airport area by throwing burning bottles out of the car, which police spokesman Gerbert described as “some kind of Molotov cocktails”.
Footage shared on social media shows flames on the tarmac as firefighters rushed to the scene.
After the incident, passengers will be evacuated from Hamburg Airport on November 5th
Parts of a destroyed barrier are removed from a gate at Hamburg Airport after the shooter drove through a gate
A Hamburg local transport bus shows the message “Evacuation” on a display in front of Hamburg Airport
Specialist units, firefighters and officers were all at the scene, while a major police operation was still underway this morning.
According to police, all terminals were evacuated – as was a plane next to which the armed man was parked.
The passenger plane was full but it was understood everyone had been evacuated and a collection point had been set up at the nearby Radisson Blue Hotel opposite the airport.
Police also said a psychologist had spoken to the man and that there were no signs that other people could be hurt as all passengers had evacuated the airport.