German Officials Taken Hostage Where Merkel Set to Speak

German Officials Taken Hostage Where Merkel Set to Speak
Tara MacIsaac
8/19/2013
Updated:
7/18/2015

A 24-year-old man who has been receiving psychiatric treatment is thought to have taken three hostages in the town hall of Ingolstadt Monday where Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to hold a campaign rally later in the day, according to AFP. 

Police told AFP the man has a real or imitation handgun. He is thought to have been stalking a female employee at the hall. The three hostages are thought to be Deputy Mayor Sepp Misslbeck, his secretary, and the city government’s complaint manager, according to Donau Kurier.

The Kurier reported that the young man had a friendship with the 25-year-old female employee at the hall. When she tried to end the friendship, he persisted, leading her to take legal action. The man was arrested last summer for violating a restraining order, and has been undergoing psychiatric treatment in Munich since. 

A psychiatrist working with the man told the Kurier he is “highly manipulative.”

There is no clear link between the hostage situation and Merkel’s campaign rally aside from the location. 

Check back for updates as this story develops.