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It is a miracle that no one was injured: Salman E.* (35) kidnapped his daughter (4) on Saturday due to a custody dispute. He drove armed in a car onto the runway of Hamburg airport and barricaded himself there.
The fact that the police got the hostage taker to surrender and release the child was thanks to a complex, large-scale operation involving specialists. This is how the researchers proceeded.
18 hours of negotiation
On Saturday around 8 p.m., E. broke through the barrier to the asphalt in a rented Audi, lit two Molotov cocktails and fired a gun into the air. He had taken his daughter hostage in the car. Flight operations were immediately halted and the airport area was evacuated. Negotiation group E had been in constant contact with the hostage taker since Saturday evening. Police talked to the father all night, trying to get him to let the child go and turn himself in.
With great patience and feeling, the emergency services explained that this was the only acceptable solution for him and the child. As police spokeswoman Sandra Levgrün tells ‘Focus’, the tactic was ‘sometimes more, sometimes less successful’. E. is said to have repeatedly been on the verge of surrendering and then retreated. In the end, it took 18 hours for the father to let the child go.
920 police officers on duty
The large-scale police operation involved 920 emergency services from eight states. This includes a Special Operations Team (SEKs), dog handlers with explosives detection dogs, the anti-terrorist unit BFE+, police psychologists, various task forces, specially trained negotiators and snipers.
While negotiating group E spoke with the hostage taker, police officers searched E.’s apartment in Buxtehude, Lower Saxony. On Sunday afternoon, investigators used a fire brigade turntable ladder and sniffer dogs to check whether explosives were present in the apartment. The tracks were then secured.
At 3:10 p.m. E. gave up
On Sunday at 3:10 p.m., E. agreed to be arrested. E. was allowed to hug his daughter before two security guards accompanied the child to the building. Meanwhile, the father lay down barefoot on the floor. The police only arrested E. when his daughter was out of sight. The mother was already waiting at the airport to hug the child.
In the report, the police speak of an “exceptional psychological situation” in which the hostage taker found himself as a result of the custody dispute. E. had come up with a plan for himself and his daughter. “The girl’s mother had probably placed an advertisement online to sell something. According to my information, the ex-husband then registered under a false name and thus gained access to the apartment,” an acquaintance of the woman told “Bild”.
Ongoing research since 2022
The armed E. grabbed the child in the apartment in Stade (D) and allegedly fired a shot into the apartment complex. After breaking through the security fence at the airport, he wanted to fly to Turkey with his daughter. In March 2022, E. had already traveled to Turkey with the child. However, the mother managed to get the daughter back and that is why E. was examined.
The hostage taker is now at the station. The state security department of the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office will take over the further investigation. The child and mother have been admitted to hospital for further examination.
37,000 passengers affected
On Sunday afternoon, twenty hours after E. drove onto the tarmac, Hamburg airport resumed flight operations. More than 37,000 passengers were affected and had to be accommodated in a hotel near the airport. The airport was functioning normally on Monday.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
