This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/24/world/europe/germany-movie-theater-attack.html
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Police Kill Movie Theater Assailant in Germany | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| FRANKFURT — A masked, armed assailant attacked a movie theater in the German city of Viernheim on Thursday and was killed by elite police units that stormed the building, officials and the news media reported. | |
| There were initial reports that 25 people had been hurt in the mayhem but the number of casualties could not be confirmed. Some German news media said that the injuries were from police tear-gas and that the assailant had carried a weapon loaded with blank cartridges. | |
| Bernd Hochstädter, a spokesman for the police command in Southern Hessen, confirmed that the assailant had been killed. Speaking to the N-TV private news channel, Mr. Hochstädter said a special team had carried out the action. He said the team had approached the gunman, supported by local police officers. | |
| “A person with a gun entered the cinema,” Mr. Hochstädter said. The police were alerted and immediately surrounded the center. | |
| The assailant’s identity and motive were not clear. | |
| Viernheim is a city of about 33,000 people near Mannheim, which is known for its chemicals industry. | |
| Germany has not had terrorist attacks on the same scale as France or Belgium, but the police have foiled several plots and the country has been dreading that it, too, could become a target. |