Four injured in Cologne-Mülheim shooting after street dispute escalates late Monday
A dispute among several people escalated into gunfire on a street in Cologne's Mülheim district late Monday evening, leaving four people with partly serious injuries.
What happened
Shots were fired on an open street in the Mülheim district of Cologne late Monday evening, 3 August 2026. Police were alerted around 22:00 after witnesses reported gunfire. A large-scale police operation followed, with officers cordoning off the crime scene, interviewing witnesses, and securing evidence. Forensic teams worked at the scene, including on the premises of a petrol station, according to the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.
Four people were injured, some seriously, and were taken to hospitals by paramedics. It remained unclear early Tuesday whether all four had been struck by gunfire. A police spokesperson told the AFP news agency on Tuesday morning that there was no danger to the general public.
The dispute
Police described the incident as an "altercation between several people" that preceded the shooting. The exact sequence of events, the number of shots fired, and the identity of the shooter were still unknown as of early Tuesday. No information on possible arrests was released.
Bislang haben Rettungskräfte vier zum Teil schwer Verletzte in Krankenhäuser gebracht.
Investigation underway
The criminal investigation department (Kriminalpolizei) has taken over the case. Police said they would provide an update on initial findings during the morning of Tuesday, 4 August. The motive behind the violence remained unclear overnight.
Mülheim's crime record
Mülheim is considered one of Cologne's districts with the highest crime rates. In March 2026, a restaurant guest was threatened with a weapon and robbed there. In 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia's first permanent weapons ban zone was introduced on a square in the district.
