Germany: 2 dead in supermarket shooting, police say
June 7, 2022
Two people were found dead after a shooting in a supermarket north of Frankfurt, authorities said Tuesday.
According to local police, gunfire was reported at the premises in Schwalmstadt at around 1 p.m. local time (1100 UTC).
"Based on consistent witness statements, a man first shot a woman in the grocery store and then apparently took his own life," a police statement said. "There are currently no indications of the involvement of third persons."
The motive behind the killing was not immediately clear.
Besides the two deceased individuals — a 58-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman — no others were believed to have been injured and there was no danger to the public, the statement added.
"The scene of the crime has been cordoned off over a wide area," police said.
Officials have launched a criminal investigation into the incident. Emergency services at the scene have also set up a support center for witnesses and those affected.
The speaker of the state parliament in Hesse, Astrid Wallmann, thanked the police for their work and offered her condolences to the relatives of the dead.
Schwalmstadt is a rural mid-sized town of just under 20,000 people roughly 90 minutes' drive north of Frankfurt.
nm/msh (Reuters, dpa)