German police detain hostage-taker at hospital
January 18, 2019
A 40-year-old male patient at a hospital in southern Germany was arrested on Friday after he took a female patient hostage with a knife.
The incident took place at the Mainkofen district hospital in the Bavarian town of Deggendorf.
Police and special forces were able to overpower the man and arrest him. Authorities later said that the man was an Austrian national.
According to news agency DPA, the man suffered minor injuries in the police operation.
The 57-year-old woman who had been taken hostage was unharmed.
He also used two knives to threaten several other people before taking the hostage.
The Mainkofen district hospital, which has space for over 700 patients, has a psychiatric department as well as a forensic department where convicted offenders receiving medical treatment are housed, reported local public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Authorities did not immediately release further details about the suspect or his motives.
In a statement about the operation, police said that the suspect "did not make any demands" during negotiations with authorities and that nothing is known yet about his motive.