Berlin: On Friday, German authorities launched a significant operation in response to what they described as a hostage situation in the city of Karlsruhe in the country's southwest. In a neighbourhood pharmacy, a suspect held people hostage and demanded a ransom payment of up to one million euros, according to the German newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung.
The deployment of police officers to the area and the closing of several nearby streets were confirmed by the German police. The police added that people who couldn't get home because of the ongoing investigation were told to go to a nearby school and that the evening's events at two nearby concert venues were postponed.
The police only stated that "several people" had been taken hostage and that they were "unharmed," declining to specify the precise number of hostages. At least two hostages were taken, according to media reports.
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According to media reports, the occupants of the chemist were held hostage for at least four hours. Police officers who were heavily armed and in armoured vehicles can be seen at the scene in photos from the incident that were published by the German tabloid Bild.
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A special forces unit stormed the pharmacy at about 9:10 p.m. local time, detained a male suspect, and then searched the structure, according to the police. No one was hurt during the operation, which resulted in the release of all the hostages.
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The incident happened just one day after a shooter in Hamburg, Germany, killed seven people at a Jehovah's Witness centre. The shooter, who ended up killing himself after being pursued by the police, was later revealed to be a disgruntled former Jehovah's Witness who had broken off bad relations with the organisation.