At least six people were shot dead at a youth welfare facility in Stade, a town of about 50,000 west of Hamburg, on Monday afternoon. German police confirmed that five victims died at the scene and a sixth succumbed to injuries in hospital. All the dead were adults, and several others were wounded, some seriously.

The attack occurred at a centre on Dankersstrasse that provides temporary accommodation for pregnant women, young mothers, and children, according to local authorities. The facility also houses offices for child and youth services. A nearby daycare and primary school were placed in lockdown, but no children were harmed. Police initially warned residents to avoid the area, later stating there was no further threat to the public.

A 45-year-old German man of Turkish origin was arrested as the suspected gunman. Lower Saxony’s interior minister, Daniela Behrens, said the shooting appeared to stem from a custody dispute over the suspect’s three-month-old daughter, who was present at the facility with her mother but unharmed. She described the act as “extremely cold-blooded” but stressed there was no political or extremist motive. The suspect had an appointment at the centre to discuss custody arrangements, police said. He was known to authorities for previous threats but had not been classified as particularly violent and did not hold a firearms licence.

Two other individuals were detained, though their roles remain under investigation. Police said the suspect fled in a car driven by a woman and was stopped at a roadblock; footage showed officers ordering the occupants out at gunpoint. Forensic teams and a large police contingent remained at the scene into the evening. Mass shootings are rare in Germany, which has strict gun laws, though several high-profile attacks have occurred in recent years, including a 2023 shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness hall in Hamburg and a 2016 rampage in Munich.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have cautioned against spreading unverified information. The exact number of injured and the full sequence of events have yet to be officially confirmed.