Roughly three weeks after the deadly attack that left six people dead at a youth welfare facility in Stade, the suspect held in pretrial detention has died by suicide. The man was found lifeless on Tuesday morning in his single cell at the Bremervörde correctional facility, Lower Saxony's Justice Ministry in Hanover announced. There are currently no indications of third-party involvement, and suicide is presumed.
According to the ministry, a staff member at the correctional facility discovered the 45-year-old at around 6:05 a.m. "during the morning welfare and headcount check in his single cell." He reportedly already showed no body temperature. An emergency doctor who was called to the scene shortly afterward confirmed the death of the accused "by strangulation." Investigations into the precise circumstances of his death are ongoing.
According to the ministry, the prison authorities were already working on drafting a "comprehensive immediate report," and relatives of the suspect and the victims' families had been informed. The relevant subcommittee of the state parliament had also been notified.
The 45-year-old is accused of shooting dead six employees of the youth welfare facility and the youth welfare office three weeks ago during a a care-plan consultation meeting, at the facility in Stade. According to investigators, the attack was presumably rooted in a custody dispute.
The facility was housing the suspect's three-month-old daughter as well as the child's 34-year-old mother. The man was arrested by police immediately after the attack while attempting to flee and had been in pretrial detention ever since. Investigators accused him of six counts of murder.
A 65-year-old woman was arrested alongside the suspect, according to earlier information from investigators. She is alleged to have driven the car in which the man fled the scene on June 29. The woman reportedly has close ties to the suspect's family. According to a report by "Bild," she is said to be the godmother of the suspect's daughter.
According to the report, investigations are also underway against the 65-year-old woman as well as the 34-year-old mother of the child. However, any possible involvement of the two women in the crime, along with the exact sequence of events and background, remain subject to ongoing investigations, the newspaper wrote, citing investigators.
The shooting attack caused shock across Germany. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier both expressed their sympathy to those affected. Among the six people killed were three employees each from the welfare facility and the youth welfare office, four women and two men.
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