German police fatally shoot armed 27-year-old man outside Tuttlingen town hall

Confrontation at the town hall

Around 12:30 PM on Thursday, an armed 27-year-old man entered the municipal town hall building in downtown Tuttlingen, southern Baden-Württemberg. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the individual moving through the administrative building carrying a handgun. Alarmed by the presence of an armed intruder in the corridors, municipal workers quickly dialed emergency telephone numbers to summon law enforcement. Employees across several departments locked their office doors from the inside to protect themselves while waiting for police units to intervene. Before officers reached the interior of the complex, the suspect walked back out of the municipal premises and moved toward the exterior courtyard. When responding patrol officers arrived on site, the man attacked them without warning, pointing his weapon and pulling the trigger.

An official spokesperson for the State Criminal Police Office described the sudden opening of fire by the suspect:

Exchange of gunfire in the courtyard

Confronted by direct incoming gunfire, responding police officers drew their service weapons and returned fire in the courtyard. Witnesses in the adjacent downtown district reported hearing five distinct shots echo across the municipal complex during the encounter. The 27-year-old shooter was struck by police rounds and collapsed onto the pavement in the courtyard. Officers equipped with protective tactical vests and a helmet immediately knelt beside the fallen suspect to render emergency first aid. Responders deployed emergency medical equipment and performed resuscitation techniques directly on the pavement while awaiting additional medical personnel. Despite the swift medical intervention by patrol officers on the scene, the injuries proved fatal.

The State Criminal Police Office confirmed that efforts to revive the wounded suspect had failed:

The resuscitation attempts were unfortunately unsuccessful.

Emergency response and site lockdown

Police units established an extensive security cordon across the center of Tuttlingen and officially confirmed the active tactical deployment around 13:00.

Municipal administrators announced that the town hall would remain closed to the public for the remainder of Thursday. Reports from the scene identified two distinct holes on the glass front entrance of the town hall, which appeared consistent with bullet impacts from the shootout, though official confirmation remained pending. Police spokespersons urged local residents to avoid the immediate perimeter surrounding the town hall while operations continued. Authorities confirmed that the suspect had not threatened passersby on the street prior to entering the building and stated that the public faced no ongoing danger following the shooting.

Investigation by state authorities

The State Criminal Police Office of Baden-Württemberg assumed formal control of the inquiry into the fatal shooting and the use of firearms by patrol officers. Investigators identified the deceased suspect as a 27-year-old Afghan citizen who held an active residence in Tuttlingen. Police spokespersons confirmed that the man had already come to police attention on previous occasions for prior offenses. Detectives and forensic teams remained stationed in the courtyard and surrounding offices throughout Thursday afternoon, conducting searches for ballistics evidence and interviewing city staff. Officials noted that the exact motives behind the man's decision to bring a loaded pistol to the municipal building remained entirely unknown. Tuttlingen, a municipality of roughly 38,000 inhabitants recognized as an industrial center for the medical technology industry, recorded no casualties among police officers or municipal employees during the confrontation.