Shooting at Germany youth center leaves 5 dead, police say, with 2 people taken into custody

Five people were killed in a shooting Monday at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade, police said. Two people were arrested, including the suspected shooter.

There were also injuries, police said, but they did not give a figure.

Police said the shooting took place in the facility south of Stade’s town center, and that there was no ongoing danger to the public.

Two suspects were arrested, one of whom is believed to have fired the shots, according to the police, who added that they were working to establish the background to the incident.

Like most of Western Europe, Germany has relatively strict laws on gun ownership, and mass shootings are rare but not unheard of.

Stade has about 50,000 inhabitants and is located about 25 miles west of Hamburg.