By Robin Mühlebach, Stéphanie Mercier, Philipp Schmidt, Simon Czura and René Garzke
Breathe a sigh of relief in the center of Karlsruhe! The suspected pharmacy kidnapper was arrested by the police!
The live stream showed how some special police units had positioned themselves in front of the pharmacy door. Then a loud bang. Short time later access.
At 9:10 p.m. the pharmacy was stormed. A male suspect was arrested. The police and prosecutors confirm this.
Police officers with special equipment have taken up position in front of the pharmacy Photo: picture alliance/dpa
A police spokesman after the access: “A suspected perpetrator has been arrested for the time being. The perpetrator is unharmed. According to the current status, there are no injured hostages.” It will be checked whether there are other perpetrators.
▶︎ The building is searched. Because of the hostage-taking, the police had gone on a large-scale operation around the “Congress pharmacy”.
The police had previously been in a large-scale operation because of a hostage-taking in the Karlsruhe “Congress Pharmacy”.
The police are on site with a large contingent – also with armored vehicles Photo: dpa
For tactical reasons, the police did not want to say anything about the number of people in the pharmacy for a long time. According to the “ Stuttgart newspaperAn armed man took two hostages.
︎ Previously, the hostage-taker demanded a single-digit million amount for the release of the hostages, according to the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten”.
The police have been in contact with the perpetrator or perpetrators for a long time, and the hostages are said to be unharmed.
︎ The police had previously assembled a large contingent – special forces are also deployed around the pharmacy. According to the authorities, the hostage-taking began around 4:30 p.m.
The affected area near the fairground was cordoned off over a large area. The investigators called for avoiding the area around Ettlinger Strasse.
The Congress pharmacy was attacked on January 26th. According to the police, a masked robber came to the pharmacy with a “saw-like” tool to steal a liter of methadone.
In addition to the police, there are also numerous ambulances on site Photo: picture alliance/dpa
pharmacist dr Ralf Schabik (56) to BILD: “I have known the operator of the pharmacy for years because we are in the same working group. He is a committed reliable colleague. I can’t understand why anyone would choose a pharmacy for a hostage situation.”
The Congress pharmacy, where the hostage-taking took place, would have had emergency service tonight.