Father kills six youth welfare workers in Stade after custody hearing; police form murder commission

The shooting

A gunman killed six people inside a mother-and-child residential group in Stade, Lower Saxony, on Monday afternoon. He was attending a so-called Hilfeplangespräch, a structured case conference required by German child-protection law, with staff from the Jugendamt Hannover region and the local youth welfare facility. Police said the 45-year-old suspect, identified by Spiegel as Fatih Khan G., drew a pistol and shot the participants. Four women and one man died at the scene; a sixth victim, a man, succumbed to his injuries several hours later in hospital. No one else was injured.

Background and motive

Investigators and media reports point to an escalating custody conflict over the suspect's three-month-old daughter. The infant and her mother had been placed in the Stade facility after a doctor at Hanover Medical School (MHH) diagnosed injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome and expressed suspicion of abuse. The father allegedly threatened the doctor verbally. In response, the youth welfare office sought to restrict his parental rights. The child was taken into state care under section 42 of the Social Code (Inobhutnahme).

The weapon and the escape

According to the police, the suspect did not hold a firearms license. He is believed to have purchased the weapon at Berlin's Bahnhof Zoo station. After the shooting he fled in a Mercedes coupé driven by a 65-year-old woman described as the child’s godmother. Officers shot out at least one tyre to stop the car. During the getaway attempt, the suspect fired at police until his ammunition was exhausted. Both occupants were arrested. A murder commission is now being set up; a decision on an arrest warrant is expected on Tuesday.

Reactions and demands for protection

“This kind of violence as in Stade is absolutely shocking and defies all categories.”

The head of Verdi's federal group for education, child and youth services said Hilfeplangespräche are often highly conflictual meetings. Volker Geyer, chairman of the German Civil Service Federation (DBB), demanded better protection for public-sector staff:

“We are deeply shocked and angry. For years we have been pointing to the growing number of violent acts against public-service employees. These are the people who stick their necks out for this state, for all of us. We owe them special protection.”

The investigation

The newly formed murder squad is collecting witness photos and videos through a dedicated portal. The three Jugendamt employees had travelled nearly 200 kilometres from Hanover to attend the meeting. The regional authority said it was “deeply shaken” and “stunned” but would not comment further while the probe is ongoing. The mother and the baby were not physically hurt.