The police have been on duty in Brandenburg with a large contingent including special forces for around 24 hours – a man with a child is said to have fired shots. Emergency services arrived in the Vieritz district on Friday at 1:45 p.m., the small town is about 20 kilometers northwest of Brandenburg an der Havel. According to initial findings, there were four people in a house there in the afternoon: the suspect and another man as well as the child and his mother. She is said to have come out of the house at night and handed the child over to the youth welfare office.
An arrest also took place late on Friday afternoon, as a spokeswoman for the West Police Department told the German Press Agency on Saturday. One of the men came out of the house with a gun and was overpowered by police. According to the information, no one was injured. According to the spokeswoman, the other man is still in the building. The shots are said to have been fired by him.
A reporter from the German Press Agency reported a detonation in front of the house on Saturday afternoon. An armored vehicle started moving towards the building. The police initially did not want to confirm access when asked. Dozens of rescue workers and numerous police vehicles are still on site.
According to the information, there was a decision from the district court, suggested by the youth welfare office. Due to an assumed risk to the child’s welfare, special police units also arrived at the scene in the Milower Land district. They were supported by police officers from Berlin.
The exact background to the incident is still unclear. A police spokesman initially did not want to provide any details about the armed person this morning.
The main street of the small town and the residential area in which the building is located are largely cordoned off. Residents were urged not to leave their homes. Residents who wanted to enter the area from outside were turned away and asked to find other accommodation or places to stay because the police needed “leeway to maneuver.”
The municipality of Milower Land has around 4,400 inhabitants, and around 300 live in the Vieritz district. The town is located on the western Brandenburg border with Saxony-Anhalt.
Note: This article is continually updated
