Hostage situation at Berlin Rewe store: Police negotiating with perpetrator for hours

What is known so far

According to a 22-year-old employee, the incident occurred shortly before closing time. „stand die Filiale am Freitagabend kurz vor der Schließung", he reported. The young man, who works at the store as a part-time employee, said he saw „als ein Mann ein Messer gezogen habe, das 'sehr groß' gewesen sei".

The 22-year-old went on to describe how he „dann mit einer anderen Mitarbeiterin rausgelaufen und habe die Polizei gerufen". He said he saw a „funkelndes Messer" but was otherwise unable to make out much: „Ich habe nicht viel gesehen, es ist alles sehr schnell passiert. Man konnte auch nicht viel erkennen." Asked about his own condition, he said: „Mir gehe es zum Glück gut."

Accounts from the 22-year-old employee

Regarding his colleague who was taken hostage, the employee said: She „war einfach am falschen Ort zum falschen Zeitpunkt". He said he wished „dass alles gut ist, dass sie nicht verletzt ist, dass alles gut ausgeht" – and appeared shocked: „Ich bin geschockt".

Police have so far neither confirmed nor denied the 22-year-old's account. Asked about media reports that the store manager had reportedly seen a weapon, the spokesperson was cautious: „Das sind Gerüchte, die wir nicht kommentieren." The content and progress of the negotiations were also not disclosed: „Auch das ist alles Gegenstand der laufenden Ermittlungen."

Major police operation in Marienfelde

The supermarket has been cordoned off over a wide area. The Special Operations Command (SEK) positioned itself in front of the building at the corner of Hildburghauser Straße/Tirschenreuther Ring. Numerous police vehicles, ambulances and fire trucks were at the scene. „Am frühen Morgen stellten die Beamten eine Leiter ans Gebäude und verschafften sich einen Blick in den Markt", dpa reported.

Behind the cordon, several supermarket employees waited. They had thin fabric blankets draped around them, which the emergency services had provided. They are believed to have been in the store at the time of the incident.

Background and demands remain unclear

The officers are trained for such incidents, as spokesperson Petersen-Schümann emphasized: „Es gebe Einsatzkräfte, die für solche Vorfälle entsprechend geschult seien." Nothing was initially known about the background to the incident; any demands made by the man were also not publicly confirmed at first. Police spokesperson Florian Nath later said „der Mann stellte unterschiedliche Forderungen" – he provided no further details.

Police assume that no other people remain in the store. Whether the hostage is injured or in need of medical assistance was initially unclear: „Unklar ist, wie es der Geisel geht." It also remained unclear whether police had already attempted rescue operations. Police stressed that there had been no danger to residents.

Marienfelde is located in the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district on the southern edge of the German capital. Residents were called on in the early hours of Saturday morning to avoid the area over a wide radius. Police provided no information about the identity of the hostage-taker or the hostage.

Situation in southern Berlin

Berlin police spoke of an ongoing operation. „Es ist ein laufender Einsatz", the spokesperson said. When the hostage situation could be expected to end was not foreseeable at the time of reporting. The negotiations were continuing.

In a later assessment, it became known that the hostage situation at the Berlin supermarket had ended. Details of the outcome – in particular whether the hostage remained unharmed and how the perpetrator was overpowered – were not apparent from the information available.

The reporting was picked up by, among others, rbb24 Inforadio, the Deutsche Presse-Agentur and the „Bild" newspaper. Additional eyewitness accounts circulated on social networks that could not be verified at this time.