Gunman who killed six 'involved in custody battle over his baby'
The alleged gunman who mowed down six workers at a German welfare centre for young mothers yesterday is a father who is embroiled in a custody battle over his infant daughter, police have revealed.
The 45-year-old man, whose identity has not yet been revealed, was detained after allegedly killing four women and two men at a welfare facility in the Dankersstrasse area in Stade, Lower Saxony, yesterday afternoon.
Five victims died at the scene, while a sixth succumbed to their injuries in hospital. All the victims were employees of the facility.
Several people were also injured during the shooting.
It was initially not known why the alleged attacker, a Turkish citizen born in Germany who is from the Hanover area, carried out the heinous attack.
But following their initial investigations, police said the motive was over custody of his three-month-old baby.
The baby and her mother were in the building at the time of the attack, but were not hurt. A custody hearing was scheduled for Monday.
Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens told reporters late on Monday that the incident was 'an act of violence carried out in an extremely cold-blooded manner, with no political or economic motives.'
Footage shared by Bild appeared to show the moment two of the people involved were caught fleeing by police
Employees of a youth welfare facility and witnesses hug near the scene where six people were killed in a shooting in Stade, northern Germany, on June 29, 2026
Lueneburg police chief Kathrin Schuol said while the man was known to police 'in relation to threats', he was not considered a 'particularly violent individual'. He also did not have a firearms licence.
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Schuol said the suspect initially fled the scene in a car driven by a woman.
Bild reported that this driver, a 65-year-old woman, is being questioned by police, alongside the baby's 34-year-old mother.
Footage shared by Bild appeared to show the moment two of the people involved were caught fleeing by police.
An adult was seen falling out of a stopped grey car as a second person was being detained by armed police.
Photos from the scene show a grey Mercedes with at least one of its tyres blown out. The back-right tyre was shredded, and the car was surrounded by several police officers.
An eyewitness told Focus, a German news magazine, that they heard police fire shots at a man and a woman who appeared to be attempting to flee the scene in a car.
A police car is parked near a building that houses a youth facility in Stade, Germany on Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Photos from the scene show a grey Mercedes with at least one of its tyres blown out
The back-right tyre was shredded, and the car was surrounded by several police officers
Police are still investigating the incident, which took place on Monday afternoon
One officer reportedly shouted at the car's inhabitants: 'Stop, stay put!'
When the car did not stop, police fired up to 15 rounds.
Police were then heard saying there had been shots to the 'chest' and 'head', though it is not clear whether these were in reference to the alleged perpetrators or the victims.
Police are still investigating the horrific incident.
Stade has a population of around 50,000 people, and is located west of Hamburg.
Germany has some of Europe's strictest gun laws - they require anyone under 25 to pass a psychiatric exam before applying for a gun licence - and mass shootings are relatively rare.
But they occur from time to time, and Monday's was among the deadliest in recent times.
Earlier this year, a pair of shootings in Berlin and Strullendorf saw a total of four people die and four people get injured.
The January shooting in Berlin saw four people get wounded during a family dispute in the centre of the city.
And in February, a man shot and killed his wife and two children, before turning the gun on himself, in the Bavarian city of Strullendorf.
Flowers and candles sit in the ground near the scene after a deadly shooting at a youth welfare facility in the northern town of Stade, Germany, on June 29, 2026
Police and rescuers work at the scene where five people were killed in a shooting in Stade, northern Germany, on June 29, 2026
A forensic Police officer with a camera works near the scene where five people were killed in a shooting in Stade, northern Germany, on June 29, 2026
In February 2020, a far-right extremist shot dead nine people and wounded five others in the central German city of Hanau.
In March 2023 a disgruntled former Jehovah's Witness member shot dead six people from the Christian group's congregation in the German city of Hamburg, before turning the gun on himself.
In May 2022 a 21-year-old gunman opened fire at a secondary school in northern Germany, badly injuring a female member of staff before being arrested.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
