Major operation in Aachen

65-year-old woman in hospital suffers gunshot wounds

The Aachen police have arrived with heavy equipment.

(Bild: Screenshot Glomex)

Following the large-scale operation by the police and fire department in a hospital in the western German city of Aachen (we reported), investigators have many unanswered questions to clarify on Tuesday. A 65-year-old woman had spread fear and terror there for hours on Monday evening with a dummy explosive and a blank gun. She suffered serious gunshot wounds in the course of being overpowered. 

In the course of the operation, it became known that the woman's apartment in Eschweiler had burnt out on Monday afternoon. She is suspected of having started the fire herself. The Cologne police headquarters reported a corresponding letter on Tuesday morning. Details of the background were not initially disclosed.

"The 65-year-old woman is said to have entered the Luisenhospital at around 5 p.m. with a weapon, which later turned out to be a blank gun, a conspicuously large belt and another, as yet unknown, object and threatened employees of the physiotherapy practice," the police report said. After an employee managed to take the weapon away from her, she is said to have retreated to a patient room, ignited a pyrotechnic object and thrown it into the corridor.

Police officers had to draw their firearms
When she left the room at 10.38 p.m. and tried to set fire to an object in the corridor, the police officers drew their firearms to put an end to the dangerous situation. The woman suffered serious injuries and received medical treatment. Details of the nature of the injuries were not initially provided. According to initial reports, no other people were injured.

Belt looked like an explosive belt
The reason for the bloody "emergency intervention": the 65-year-old woman's conspicuously large belt looked like an explosive belt to the police officers. She was also holding "a suspicious object" in her hand and moving towards the police officers. As the woman had not responded to being spoken to, firearms were eventually used. It was only later that specialists from the State Office of Criminal Investigation were able to clarify that the belt was a dummy.

The Aachen fire department was notified of a fire in the Luisenhospital late on Monday afternoon. It was not until late in the evening that the city of Aachen reported that the fire in the hospital's bed area had been extinguished.

Almost 400 people were on the scene. The emergency pastoral care team was represented by eleven people. 73 affected people from the Luisenhospital were cared for. "Four people from the intensive care unit had to be transported to other hospitals," the city announced. 270 patients were able to stay in hospital. In the hours before the attack, it was possible to see how hospital operations continued, at least in part, behind the wrought-iron grating of the hospital, which had been cordoned off over a wide area.

Entire clinic area evacuated
The clinic area in the immediate vicinity of the woman was evacuated immediately. Patients and staff were brought to safety, reported Aachen police spokesman Andreas Müller. A heavily armed special task force was deployed and at times a helicopter circled over the hospital. There had been repeated speculation about a possible hostage-taking, but the police had not confirmed this.

Road and rail traffic was restricted
During the operation, which lasted several hours, there were also restrictions on road and rail traffic. In the west of the city, a section of the railroad line was closed as a precautionary measure and trains waited at stations.

The hospital, located on the edge of the city center, is run by a Protestant association. According to its own information, patients with a wide variety of illnesses are treated in 15 clinics. Whether the woman had deliberately chosen the hospital is one of the unanswered questions.

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