Special police units ended an hour-long hostage-taking in Karlsruhe on Friday evening. At around 9:10 p.m., the emergency services entered the pharmacy where the hostages were. “A male suspect was arrested,” wrote the Karlsruhe police on Twitter. The building will be searched. According to preliminary information, there are no injured people.
The police operation began in the afternoon. The first emergency calls came in around 4:30 p.m. The crime scene was in the middle of downtown Karlsruhe on one of the main streets. The forces cordoned off the area over a wide area. Numerous police and emergency services vehicles were seen on the street.
The police soon announced that there was no danger to the population. Nevertheless, she called on people to avoid the area of operation and to follow the instructions of the emergency services. A school for accommodation was opened for residents.
Because of the hostage-taking, the Karlsruhe trade fair had canceled two evening events at short notice. An event with dog trainer Martin Rütter and a master concert were affected, said a spokeswoman for the fair. There is currently no way for visitors anyway: Both venues are part of the festival site, which is close to the site that the police have cordoned off over a large area.
It was only in January that there was an incident in the pharmacy: a masked robber got into the personnel area, threatened an employee with a saw-like tool and fled with a liter of methadone. A few days later, a suspect in this case was identified and arrested.