An armed Turkish man allegedly held his child hostage late Saturday at Hamburg Airport in northern Germany, triggering air traffic disruptions for 18 hours, according to multiple reports.
The man, 35, allegedly breached a security barrier with his four-year-old daughter in his car in the evening, drove onto the tarmac and parked under a packed, take0ff-ready Turkish Airlines plane, the BBC reported. He then fired shots in the air and threw Molotov cocktails, according to law enforcement officials.
Everyone on board was evacuated safely, and police arrested the man, BBC noted.
Law enforcement said the man was embroiled in a child custody dispute with his wife over their daughter and wanted to take the child with him to Turkey, being dissatisfied with the ruling on the custody arrangement, per BBC.
“He speaks about his life being a heap of shards,” Hamburg police spokeswoman Sandra Levgruen said Sunday, according to BBC.
The Police Press Officer Sandra Levgrün declaration on the situation at #Hamburg Airport pic.twitter.com/mAVW4VUsqh
— RoINTEL (@RoINTEL) November 4, 2023
The man had allegedly taken his daughter after an argument with his wife, who then reported his alleged child abduction to emergency services, authorities said, per BBC. He had once allegedly traveled with the child to Turkey without the mother’s permission, causing the mother to remove the child back to Germany, BBC noted.
Videos circulating on Twitter appear to show the man setting fire to the tarmac using the flaming bottles and the moment the child was freed and the man was arrested.
The suspect eventually got out of his car with his daughter, and police arrested him without event, Hamburg Police tweeted Sunday. (RELATED: Police Fatally Shoot Man Allegedly Holding Woman, Daughter Hostage)
A man who kidnapped and held his daughter at Hamburg airport was allowed to say goodbye to his daughter before being detained. pic.twitter.com/jtHn5hBCBH
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) November 5, 2023
Flights were canceled and diverted during the incident, and the airport was cordoned off, Hamburg Airport authorities said in a series of tweets. Long after the police action had ended Sunday, some flights still faced the possibility of cancellation or delay Monday, the airport’s authorities noted in separate tweets.
“The child appears to be unharmed,” Hamburg Police said.
Hamburg’s Mayor Peter Tschentscher thanked the police “for their commitment and the prudent approach that enabled the 4-year-old girl to be freed and the perpetrator arrested.”