Shooting at Mercedes factory in Germany leaves 2 dead; suspect detained

BERLIN (AP) — A man opened fire at a Mercedes-Benz factory in southwestern Germany on Thursday, leaving two people dead, authorities and the company said.

The shooting occurred in Sindelfingen, a city near Stuttgart. The suspect, a 53-year-old Turkish citizen, was taken into custody, the Stuttgart prosecutor’s office said.

Police received the first emergency calls around 7:45 a.m. (0545 GMT; 1:45 a.m. EDT) on Thursday, prosecutors said in a statement.

By the time officers arrived, the suspect had already been overwhelmed by company security. He is being investigated on suspicion of double homicide.

The victims were both 44 years old, prosecutors said, but provided no further details about the dead men and said the possible motive for the killings was under investigation.

In a statement, Mercedes-Benz said that two people were killed at its Sindelfingen plant and the company was “deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic news.”

“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all colleagues on site,” the statement said.

The company said the three people involved were employees of an external service provider. German news agency dpa reported that they worked for logistics company Rhenus.

The sprawling Sindelfingen factory employs around 35,000 workers producing E-Class and S-Class luxury sedans and CLS and GLC coupes, according to Mercedes-Benz’s website. It also houses planning, purchasing and development and design departments.

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The 8th paragraph of this story has been revised to correct that three employees refers to the two who were killed and the suspect, not that three were killed.

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