The Hostage Situation At Hamburg Airport Ends With A Man In Custody And 4-Year-Old Daughter Safe

BERLIN, Germany (AP) — Authorities say the hostage crisis at Hamburg Airport ended Sunday afternoon, some 18 hours after a father drove his vehicle past the airport’s gates with his 4-year-old daughter inside. The man was taken into custody, and the girl looked uninjured.

“The hostage situation is over,” Hamburg police tweeted. The suspect and his daughter have fled the automobile. The child does not appear to have been harmed.”

Police say, “the man was arrested by emergency services without resistance.”

According to the German news agency dpa, the airport in the northern German city had been closed to travelers, and flights had been canceled since Saturday night when the armed man burst through an airport gate with his truck and fired twice into the air with a pistol. The man parked his car outside a terminal structure, underneath a jet.

The Hostage Situation At Hamburg Airport Ends With A Man In Custody And 4-Year-Old Daughter Safe

The man’s wife had previously informed authorities about a child abduction, according to authorities.

According to police, the 35-year-old guy was driving his daughter after allegedly removing her by force from her mother in a probable custody struggle.

For the past 18 hours, a psychotherapist had been bargaining with the man. According to authorities, no one was hurt during the standoff after all passengers had left the airport.

The girl’s mother arrived at the airport early on Sunday.

Officers were examining if the guy “still has any explosive devices on him or with him or whether they are still in the car,” according to police spokesperson Sandra Levgruen.

“We are currently assuming that he is unharmed, but he is still lying on the ground in the care of the police,” stated the officer.

The Hostage Situation At Hamburg Airport Ends With A Man In Custody And 4-Year-Old Daughter Safe.

Over 100 flights were canceled, and some aircraft were redirected. The standoff had impacted thousands of travelers, and hundreds had been placed in nearby hotels.

Police said Sunday afternoon that preparations were being made to resume airplane operations as soon as possible.

Mayor Peter Tschentscher of Hamburg expressed relief that no one was hurt.

“The hostage-taking at Hamburg Airport is over after long, dramatic hours,” Tschentscher posted on X, applauding police.

“I wish the mother, the child and her family a lot of strength to cope with these terrible experiences,” he said.

SOURCE – (AP)