The German police were on site with a large contingent in the southern German city of Regensburg. (symbol image)Image: Vifogra media/x
A perpetrator attacked people in a bank branch in Regensburg, southern Germany, on Thursday afternoon. A man suffered serious injuries and later died in hospital. The police were able to arrest the perpetrator after a long time.
July 23, 2026, 4:01 p.mJuly 23, 2026, 10:15 p.m
Several German media outlets report this unanimously. According to the information, the perpetrator is a 20-year-old German. According to police, the man attacked a bank employee with a knife. The victim suffered life-threatening injuries. The employee was initially able to escape and was taken to hospital, but later succumbed to his injuries.
According to the Picturenewspaper, the police are investigating a robbery and a completed homicide. The perpetrator was in the building for a long time after the police were alerted. According to a spokeswoman, the police assumed that there were a “single-digit number” of other people in the bank. For this reason, she assumed it was a hostage situation.
Regensburg is just under two hours’ drive north of Munich.
The emergency services are on site with a large contingent including special forces and a helicopter. Two bank employees are said to have barricaded themselves in a room in the branch. At around 5:40 p.m. the police were able to get two hostages out of the building and to safety. Attempts to contact a special team were initially unsuccessful.
It is still unclear what the hostage taker’s motive was. The police were initially unaware of any claims. It was assumed by a single perpetrator, as a spokeswoman said. Police called on residents and road users to avoid the area around the bank branch at the time of the attack.
(con/sda/dpa)