A 45-year-old Turkish national born in Germany opened fire at a youth welfare center in Stade on June 29, 2026, killing six employees during a scheduled appointment to discuss custody of his three-month-old daughter. Authorities described the attack as an “extended family tragedy” with no political motive, saying the violence stemmed directly from the custody dispute.
The attack unfolded around 12:10 local time at the facility on Dankersstrasse, where the gunman had arrived for a scheduled appointment with many of the staff members he subsequently shot.
Four women and two men were killed in the assault. Five victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while a sixth died from injuries at a hospital. Several others sustained serious wounds. The suspect’s infant daughter and her 34-year-old mother were both inside the building during the shooting but escaped injury. The facility provides temporary accommodation for pregnant women and young mothers with children.
Gunman Detained After Fleeing Scene
After the shooting, the suspect fled in a car driven by a 65-year-old woman from Bremen, identified as the infant’s godmother and a family counselor with close ties to the suspect’s family. A witness speaking to Focus Online reported that officers shouted commands to stop and fired multiple shots at the fleeing vehicle. Police halted a Mercedes with a blown-out tire at a roadblock on a nearby country road. Both the suspected shooter and the female driver were ordered onto the pavement and taken into custody. Authorities confirmed no additional suspects remained at large and declared the public was no longer in danger. On June 30, a Stade court issued a formal arrest warrant charging the suspect with six counts of murder, with prosecutors citing aggravating factors of particular treachery and base motives. He remains in pre-trial detention.
Attack Described as Extremely Cold-Blooded
Lower Saxony Interior Minister Daniela Behrens told reporters the gunman had carried out “an act of violence carried out in an extremely cold-blooded manner.” A spokesperson for prosecutors also ruled out femicide.
Lueneburg Police Chief Kathrin Schuol revealed the suspect had previously drawn attention from authorities “in relation to threats” but had not been considered especially dangerous. The gunman, who lived in the Hanover area, did not possess a firearms licence.
Nearby Schools Placed on Alert as Community Reels
The welfare center is situated near a daycare center and a primary school. City Councillor Carsten Brokelmann said parents retrieved their children from both locations after word of the violence spread. Brokelmann issued a statement expressing relief that staff and children at the neighboring facilities were safe, praising police for their response and offering condolences to the victims’ families.
Vitali Mertens, who lives across from the welfare building, described hearing gunfire and watching emergency responders swarm the scene, saying “the whole area was cordoned off right away.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the attack “shocking to the core,” writing on social media that many people who had dedicated themselves to helping and protecting others had paid with their lives or their health.
Mass Violence Uncommon in Germany
Stade, a city of roughly 50,000 people situated about 50 kilometers west of Hamburg, is unaccustomed to such bloodshed. Germany maintains far stricter gun regulations than the United States, and mass shootings are uncommon. The scale and ferocity of the attack inside a facility designed to shelter vulnerable mothers and infants intensified the shock. Police urged citizens to ignore false reports circulating on social media and messaging platforms in the aftermath. As investigators continued their probe, the nation grappled with what Behrens described as deliberate, extraordinary violence directed at people whose only purpose was to provide care.