Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
-
Two local government employees have been shot dead while checking whether legally owned firearms were being stored correctly
-
The armed suspect barricaded himself inside his Bavarian home before police stormed the building and arrested him after a 12-hour standoff
Here is a roundup of top stories from and about Germany on Friday, October 9, 2026:
Tired of missing our real-time updates? Click here to add DW as a Preferred Source on Google.
Skip next section How was the Berngau suspect arrested?10/09/2026October 9, 2026
How was the Berngau suspect arrested?
Police said the suspect barricaded himself inside his home and contacted their operations center by telephone.
He admitted firing shots, said he had firearms in his possession and warned that he would not surrender without resistance.
Special police units, including a tactical response team with an armored vehicle, were deployed to the village. A police helicopter was also used, while residents were advised to stay indoors or avoid the cordoned-off area.
Negotiators spent hours trying to persuade the suspect to surrender peacefully.
“We always try to achieve a peaceful solution, and that generally happens through communication,” a police spokesperson said.
However, at around 2:20 a.m. (0020 GMT/UTC) Friday, officers entered the building using explosives.
Police said officers fired shots during the operation, lightly wounding the suspect in the leg. He was subsequently given medical treatment.
Police have not yet established why the suspect allegedly opened fire on the two officials.
Investigators from the Regensburg criminal police department are expected to question the man in coordination with prosecutors in Nuremberg-Fürth.
https://p.dw.com/p/5O1VqSkip next section Two killed in routine firearms check in Bavaria10/09/2026October 9, 2026
Two killed in routine firearms check in Bavaria
Two local government employees have been shot dead during a routine firearms inspection at a home in southern Germany, police said.
A 60-year-old suspect was arrested early Friday following a standoff lasting more than 12 hours in the Bavarian village of Berngau.
The victims, a 45-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman, worked for the district administration in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz.
They had visited the suspect’s home on Thursday to conduct a routine inspection of legally owned firearms, including whether the weapons were being stored correctly.
Police believe the suspect opened fire on the two officials during the inspection.
Witnesses reported hearing gunshots at around 2 p.m. local time (1200 GMT), prompting a major police operation.
Officers found the 45-year-old government official dead outside the house. The woman’s body was subsequently discovered inside the building.
Police believe both victims died shortly after the shooting.
https://p.dw.com/p/5O1TaSkip next section Welcome to our coverage10/09/2026October 9, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn.
You join us after what should have been a routine firearms inspection ended with two local government employees dead in a Bavarian village.
The two officials had gone to a home in Berngau on Thursday to check whether legally owned guns were being stored correctly.
Police believe the 60-year-old homeowner shot them both.
Officers responding to reports of gunfire found one of the officials, a 45-year-old man, dead outside the house. The body of his 54-year-old female colleague was later discovered inside.
Stay with us here for these stories and more of what Germany is talking about today.
https://p.dw.com/p/5O1UTShow more posts
