Germany: 4 shot dead overnight, soldier turns himself in

A Bundeswehr soldier is suspected of killing four people overnight in the northern German state of Lower Saxony, police and public prosecutors said on Friday. 

Rotenburg police and the prosecutor's office in Verden issued a joint statement saying that one child was among the four dead bodies discovered on Friday morning at two locations. 

What do we know about the case? 

The shootings took place at two domestic residences, one in Westervesede and the other in Bothel. 

"The currently suspected Bundeswehr soldier turned himself in shortly after the crimes and was arrested by police officers," authorities said in the joint statement. 

Investigations were ongoing, they said. 

"The motive of the perpetrator is currently not definitively known. A motive based on familial ties cannot be ruled out," police and prosecutors said. 

Police presence outside local barracks

Investigators were present on Friday morning near the von-Düring Kaserne barracks to the northwest of Rotenburg, a town of roughly 22,000 people to the east of Bremen.

A black car parked outside the barracks, containing ammunition and other materials, appeared to be a focus of the investigation. Its doors and tailgate were open and a pile of materials from inside the car was arranged outside it as forensic investigators combed the scene. 

msh/ab (AP, dpa) 

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