This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

German police have stormed a pharmacy in Cologne’s central railway station, freeing a woman who had been held hostage by a man for two hours.

A male suspect sustained life-threatening injuries in the incident. It was not immediately clear how he was injured. Police said on Twitter that emergency personnel were carrying out CPR.

The woman sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

At around the time of the incident, a teenage girl was taken from the station to hospital, said Christoph Schulte, a police spokesman. He did not confirm local media reports that the suspect attacked the girl before taking the woman hostage.

No information as to the suspect’s identity or motive was provided by police.

Before officers stormed the pharmacy, the station – one of the busiest in Germany – was evacuated and all trains were stopped, leading to delays and cancelations across western Germany.</s>German police have freed a woman held hostage at a pharmacy inside the main train station in the German city of Cologne, and captured her hostage-taker.

Witnesses reported shots being heard from inside the station shortly after police announced that they had begun negotiations with the man.

A police spokesman said officers stormed the pharmacy and freed the hostage, who suffered 'slight injuries', while the hostage-taker sustained life-threatening trauma.

It was not immediately clear how the man was injured and police said on Twitter that emergency personnel were trying to revive him with CPR.

Around the time of the incident, a teenage girl was taken from the train station to the hospital with injuries, police spokesman Christoph Schulte said.

He would not confirm local media reports that the hostage-taker had first attacked the girl before taking the other woman hostage.

The unidentified man reportedly took the unnamed woman hostage at 12.45pm (11.45am UK time), forcing an evacuation of the train station, which is one of the biggest in Germany.

Heavily armed police were deployed around the train station, as well as a crisis management team.

After a standoff which lasted more than two hours, police reportedly entered the pharmacy and captured the man at 3.15pm (2.15pm UK time).

The man's motive for taking the woman hostage is not yet known.

German railroad operator Deutsche Bahn tweeted that some of the station's tracks were shut down temporarily and trains were being canceled or delayed.

Police on Twitter told people to avoid the train station. Local media reported that people were told via a loudspeaker to leave the station.

Ambulances and heavily-armed police were lined up behind the train station, the daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger reported.</s>Police in Germany have freed a woman who was taken hostage by a gunman in the main train station of the city of Cologne.

Reports this afternoon suggested an armed man had taken the woman hostage at a chemist in the station.

The city’s Breslau Square area was cordoned off with a large police presence in the area.

The city’s Hauptbanhof central train station was also closed off.

There were unconfirmed reports of shots being fired.

In the last few minutes, the Cologne Police said the incident was under control a woman was being treated for slight injuries.

They said the suspect was seriously injured in the rescue operation and was being treated by paramedics.

Investigators said the motive for the attack remained unclear.

German SEK special task force police officers in front of the Cologne Hauptbanhof train station, 15-10-2018. Image: Marius Becker/DPA/PA Images</s>One of Germany’s largest train stations was evacuated and locked down Monday after a man took a woman hostage inside a pharmacy at the transportation hub, police said.

The hostage situation began around 12:45 p.m. local time at Cologne’s main train station, police said. Authorities initially partially closed the station, but later ordered everyone to evacuate as they made contact with the man. Breslauer Platz square that’s located behind the station was also closed.

“We are in contact with the man,” police spokesman Christoph Gilles told broadcaster n-tv. “We need to find out what he wants, what his demands are and whether he carries a weapon.”

The man holding the woman hostage was not identified and his motive is unclear.

German railroad operator Deutsche Bahn said all train traffic at the station was shut down.

Cologne police tweeted no one has been shot or killed in the incident. They urged people to stay clear of the train station and not to post photos or videos of the hostage situation on social media.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>"I would like to announce that the investigation is being carried out in all directions, we also do not rule out terrorism," the spokeswoman of the Cologne police said.

At the same time, head of the hostage rescue operation Klaus Rueschenschmidt commented on the incident revealing that the attacker ignited a Molotov cocktail in a cafe before taking a woman hostage at the train station in the German city of Cologne.

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"At midday… we were informed about the situation that took place in a fast food restaurant at the central station in Cologne. According to our information, the criminal lit a Molotov cocktail in the restaurant. As a result, a 14-year-old girl was wounded. She is in hospital with burns," he said.

Rueschenschmidt added that the criminal then ran out of the restaurant and went to a pharmacy, also located at the train station, where he took a woman hostage.

The hostage crisis ended in a police operation that critically wounded the hostage-taker. He was reanimated. The woman he held captive was hurt and hospitalized.

"A passport was found in the back of the pharmacy, issued to a 55-year-old Syrian national," Klaus-Stephan Becker, from Cologne police, told reporters.

The holder of the passport had a permit to stay in Germany until mid-2021, the officer said. He was accused of theft, fraud, assault and trespassing.

Following the incident, the railway station and the nearby streets were cordoned off, while the rail traffic was partially disrupted.

Previously, media reported that while at the pharmacy, the man allegedly demanded a safe flight to Syria and said himself he was a member of the Daesh* terrorist group.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries.</s>A woman is thought to have been taken hostage at the main train station in the German city of Cologne, police said on Monday.

Heavily armed police have arrived at the station, parts of which has been closed off to the public.

A police spokesperson said that the hostage is thought to have been taken 'either at McDonald's or at a nearby pharmacy'.

'A woman is probably being held but we don't have any further details,' they added.

The police spokesperson denied previous reports of shots having been fired inside the station.

Police officer Christoph Schulte said the incident appears to have started at a pharmacy inside the station.

He said parts of the station, one of the biggest in the country, were closed off as well as Breslauer Platz square behind the station.

German railroad operator Deutsche Bahn tweeted that some of the station's tracks were shut down temporarily.

Cologne Police have taken to Twitter to tell people to avoid the station.</s>TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Cologne police on Monday closed parts of the western German city’s main train station after a man took a woman hostage in a pharmacy inside.

Police officer Christoph Schulte told The Associated Press that incident appears to have started Monday at 12:45 p.m. He said parts of the station, one of the biggest in the country, were closed off as well as Breslauer Platz square behind the station.

“We have indications that one man is holding one woman, but we haven’t been able to really get close,” Schulte said.

UPDATE: German police have neutralized the suspected hostage-taker at Cologne Central Station, Sputnik International reports. “The suspect is under control,” Cologne police said, adding that “a female hostage has sustained light injuries and is being tended to.”.</s>COLOGNE: German police said an unknown man believed to be armed had taken a woman hostage in a pharmacy inside Cologne's central railway station on Monday.

"Eye-witnesses reported hearing shots, others spoke of smoke bombs, but we cannot confirm any of that so far," a police spokesman told news channel NTV.

"We have made contact with the attacker," he said, adding that police were trying to clarify "what does this man want, what are his demands, and is he armed?"

Police commandos were deployed and the busy railway station was closed off to all passengers and trains.</s>A man has suffered life-threatening injuries after holding a woman hostage in the German city of Cologne.

The man had held the woman for two hours in a pharmacy at the city's main railway station.

She was freed when police stormed the shop.

Officers said the man was injured during the police operation, without giving any further details, and paramedics were seen trying to revive him.

The woman was treated at the scene for "light" injuries, police said.

The hostage situation began at 12.45pm and police closed the railway station and Breslauer Platz square behind the station.

Images of the scene showed the steps of the cathedral crowded with travellers carrying suitcases due to the evacuation.

There had been reports of shots fired, although police later said this was not the case.

It is not yet clear why the man took the woman hostage.</s>Cologne police on Monday closed parts of the western German city's main train station after a man took a woman hostage in a pharmacy inside.

Police officer Christoph Schulte told The Associated Press that incident appears to have started Monday at 12:45 p.m. He said parts of the station, one of the biggest in the country, were closed off as well as Breslauer Platz square behind the station.

"We have indications that one man is holding one woman, but we haven't been able to really get close," Schulte said.

German railroad operator Deutsche Bahn tweeted that some of the station's tracks were shut down temporarily and trains were being canceled or delayed.

Police on Twitter told people to avoid the train station. Local media reported that people were told via a loudspeaker to leave the station. Ambulances and heavily-armed police were lined up behind the train station, the daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger reported.
At least three people are injured after a man firebombs a fast-food restaurant in the Cologne main station and takes a woman hostage. The woman is later rescued by German counter-terrorism units.