Five children have been killed and a mother was severely injured in Germany in what has been described as a possible murder-suicide.
Heribert Kaune-Gebhardt, a prosecutor, told reporters that postmortem examinations showed signs of suffocation and sedation. Their causes of death weren’t officially disclosed.
A sixth child, identified as an 11-year-old boy, survived the incident, authorities said. Authorities said the sixth child was sent to stay with her grandmother, the Guardian reported.
North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul was quoted as saying that the mother attempted to jump in front of a train in Dusseldorf, located northwest of Solingen. She was found between two track beds and was taken to a nearby hospital, authorities said.
“We are assuming there was a criminal offense and will question the mother but she is not fit for questioning at the moment,” added Weiand. “We do not know exactly what happened yet, only that it was a very tragic situation.”
“The family drama in Solingen fills me with great sadness, and at the moment I am sending my thoughts and prayers to the five children who were torn from life so terribly early,” said Reul.
The mayor of Solingen, Tim Kurzbach, wrote on social media that he visited the apartment complex, according to the BBC.
“For me, it is still incomprehensible,” he wrote, adding: “Today is a day of mourning for all of Solingen.”
“Our authorities will do everything to investigate this case,” the North Rhine-Westphalia state governor, Armin Laschet, said, the Guardian said. “The thoughts of very many people are with the family, the grandmother, the surviving boy and everybody who is affected by this event.”
