Suspect in Stade shelter shooting found dead in jail

A man suspected of fatally shooting six child welfare workers at a shelter for mothers in Stade, northern Germany, died by suicide in jail on Tuesday, officials said.

The Lower Saxony state justice ministry said jail staff found the suspect dead in his single cell early Tuesday. The ministry said there were currently no indications that anyone else was involved in his death, and that relatives of both the suspect and the shooting victims had been informed.

German media have partially identified the suspect as 45-year-old Fatih Khan G.

Four women and two men were killed in the June 29 shooting at a shelter for mothers and their children in Stade. The source described the attack as among the worst such crimes in recent German history.

Authorities said the suspected gunman had gone to the centre for an appointment about future care arrangements for his three-month-old daughter. They said he suddenly took out a firearm and opened fire on child welfare workers. The local police chief said the victims were killed in a brutal manner.

A seventh person was wounded and survived. The child and her 34-year-old mother were at the centre at the time but were not harmed.

Police said the suspected gunman tried to flee in a car driven by a 65-year-old woman who had a close connection to his family. He was captured after a short chase. Police officers fired at the car, but the police chief said neither the suspect nor the driver was hurt.

Der Spiegel magazine, citing unnamed sources, reported that the man had previously been accused of shaking the three-month-old girl. The magazine reported that doctors had found injuries consistent with shaking. It also reported that the suspect allegedly threatened doctors at the medical centre where the child had been treated, leading to a police investigation that was later dropped.