Man in Germany dead after mother's killing, hostage-taking

A 40-year-old man suspected of killing his mother, shooting into a radio station and then taking hostages at a shopping centre in the eastern German city of Dresden is dead following a police operation, authorities said.

Both of the hostages, a child and a shopping centre employee, were freed without apparent injury following the operation by a special tactical unit, according to police.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspect wounded himself or if he was injured by police. A police spokesperson declined to provide additional details about the operation. The exact circumstances of the man's death were part of the ongoing investigation.

The hostage situation at the Altmarkt-Galerie shopping centre in central Dresden ended a string of violent incidents across three different locations in the eastern German city on Saturday.

It began when authorities discovered the lifeless body of the man's 62-year-old mother around 7:20 am (0620 GMT) in an apartment building in the Prohlis district of Dresden.

The man then allegedly tried to break into the offices of Radio Dresden around 8:30 am (0730 GMT), according to the broadcaster's managing director. He failed to get through the door but fired through a hole into the station's offices.

The radio station's staff was able to flee without physical injuries, the broadcaster said.

The suspect then allegedly went to the Altmarkt-Galerie shopping centre and barricaded himself in a room with the hostages. Police earlier had reported that hostage negotiators made telephone contact with the man before the tactical unit entered.

Authorities said the man appeared to be psychologically disturbed and that investigators were proceeding under the assumption that he was suffering from mental illness.

Saxony Premier Michael Kretschmer expressed his sympathy for the victims and thanked police after the hostage-taking and the homicide in Dresden, Saxony's state capital.

"I am relieved that this threatening situation could be ended. I would like to thank all the Saxon police forces involved for their decisive and prudent action," Kretschmer wrote on Twitter on Saturday. "We mourn a human life."