The hostage-taking in a supermarket in the south of Berlin is over.Image: DPA
After an hour-long war of nerves, the hostage-taking in a supermarket in the south of Berlin is over.
Jul 11, 2026, 05:48July 11, 2026, 9:50 a.m
“The perpetrator is overwhelmed and the hostage is freed,” said police spokesman Florian Nath to the German Press Agency. Regarding the woman’s condition, the police spokesman could initially only report that she was in shock and was being treated by emergency services.
Shortly after 10 p.m. on Friday evening, according to the police, the perpetrator took control of the woman in the Rewe store in the Marienfelde district and threatened her. “We are in contact with the hostage-taker, with the man,” another police spokesman said earlier that night.
The man made different demands, police spokesman Nath later said. Initially nothing was known about the background to the crime. The police emphasized that there was no danger to residents.
Large area of supermarket cordoned off
The Rewe supermarket on Hildburghauser Strasse, on the corner of Tirschenreuther Ring, is cordoned off over a large area, as reporters on site reported. The special operations command (SEK) is on site. Numerous police vehicles, ambulances and the fire department can also be seen. Early in the morning, the officers put a ladder on the building and got a look into the market, as a dpa reporter observed.
According to an employee of the Rewe supermarket, the hostage is an employee of the store. “She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the 22-year-old told several journalists.
When asked by the German Press Agency, the police neither confirmed nor denied the man’s descriptions. A police spokesman said he could not comment. “It’s an ongoing operation.” (sda/dpa)