Hostage crisis in Germany: Armed woman broke into a hospital and barricaded herself

Hostage crisis in Germany: Armed woman broke into a hospital and barricaded herself

According to the first information of the police, there is an armed person who barricaded herself in the clinic.

The area is surrounded by heavily armed police with helmets, body armor and assault rifles, and the streets are closed. Special units from Cologne are on their way to the site.

A woman is said to have lit the pyrotechnics, which resulted in a large plume of smoke. Several fire departments are on the scene.

She then barricaded herself in a patient room, but it is unclear if there were other people in the room. The police cannot yet say exactly who the armed person is in the hospital or who she is threatening. It is also unclear if there are any injured. Cologne police are conducting the operation as a possible hostage situation. "All available emergency services have been alerted and are on their way," a police spokeswoman said.

The Luisen Hospital in Aachen is a Protestant hospital with 378 beds and twelve specialist departments.

About 1,600 employees work in the hospital.