Four dead including child and soldier arrested after shots fired inside home

01 March 2024 , 08:43

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Emergency services stand behind a cordon at the scene (Image: Kai Moorschlatt/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Four people have died - including a child - and a soldier has been arrested in a shooting in northern Germany today.

Shots were fired in the Lower Saxony communities of Scheeßel and Bothel today, allegedly by an active Bundeswehr soldier. It is understood the soldier handed himself into police after the shooting. The motive is still unclear, local media reports this morning.

It also says there are two crime scenes - one in a single-family home in Westervesede in the municipality of Scheeßel and one in nearby Bothel in the Rotenburg district.

“A motive in the family environment cannot be ruled out,” said the police press release. Officers launched a major operation around 3:30am local time, and state and federal police were also on duty. A police helicopter was used in the early stage of the probe, local media reports.

No further details about the deceased, including ages and the nature of their relationships, have been confirmed at this stage. However, reporting from the scene for Germany publication Welt, Gerrit Schröder, said: "There were several shots here. The police immediately arrived with several forces and apparently found several victims in the building." The journalist also reported a car is being extensively examined as it is suspected it contains ammunition and explosives.

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But police say there is currently no longer any danger to the nearby population. Scheeßel, or Scheeseel in English, is in remote lowlands in rural Germany, around five miles from the nearest largest settlement, Rotenburg, a historical town.

Bradley Jolly