cologne hostage situation
© Reuters / Thilo Schmuelgen
A hostage situation broke out near the main railway station in Cologne, German police confirmed, while local media say there is heavy presence of officers armed with submachine guns.

"We assume that a hostage has been taken, either at McDonald's or at a nearby pharmacy," a police spokeswoman told Reuters.

"A woman is probably being held but we don't have any further details," she added.

The suspect seems to be armed, but his identity is yet to be established, police said. It is unknown at this stage if the perpetrator has any terrorist connections. Nevertheless, the police counter-terrorism team are gearing up for the possible hostage rescue, local media said.

cologne hostage station police
© Reuters / Thilo Schmuelgen
As the situation develops, social media users started uploading photos of the Cologne station and its vicinity.

Later, police reported that the situation was resolved as the suspect was taken "under control." The female hostage suffered light injuries in the incident and is now being treated by the medics, the police added. The suspect was severely injured in the police operation.

Shortly after police began evacuating the area, Deutsche Bahn, Germany's leading railway company, announced that it suspended trains arriving to, or stopping at, the station. Later, it partially resumed railway services on a number of tracks.

Located near the famous Cologne Cathedral, the central station is one of the most important railway junctions on the river Rhine. Around 1,300 trains pass it every day, carrying up to 280,000 passengers through the station's eleven tracks.


Comment: RT also reports:
Cologne hostage taker 'under control,' one woman slightly injured

Following an hours-long standoff, German police have finally apprehended an assailant who took a woman hostage near Cologne central station. The hostage suffered minor injuries, which are being treated.

"The suspect is taken under control," Cologne police tweeted on Monday. It later said the female hostage was freed but received minor injuries. The perpetrator, in turn, was gravely injured and taken to trauma care, police have told.

Two explosions were heard in the area during the hostage rescue not long after elite counter-terrorism team (SEK) rushed to the pharmacy building, NTV broadcaster reported.

The situation broke out earlier in the day near the main railway station in Cologne. The unnamed perpetrator holed up in a pharmacy behind the station, prompting police to launch a massive operation.

Authorities have reacted swiftly, deploying SEK as well as multiple officers and a helicopter. Police have cordoned off the entire area while Deutsche Bahn, Germany's largest railway company, has partially suspended trains passing by the Cologne station.

[...]

Hostage taking is not a common case in Germany these days. The latest high-profile incident happened in April 2005, when an Iranian man seized a regular bus in the town of Ennepetal, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Several hours later, SEK freed the hostages, lightly injuring the kidnapper.
Further updates from RT 15th October 2018 at 22:06:
Cologne hostage taker claimed to be ISIS member, threatened to burn woman alive - police

The assailant who took a woman hostage near the Cologne central station claimed to be a member of Islamic State (IS, former ISIS) group, police said, adding that it does not rule out a terrorist motive behind the incident.

The incident unfolded Monday afternoon, when the perpetrator attempted to light up a Molotov cocktail in a neighboring fast-food restaurant. His actions triggered a fire sprinkler system and he fled the scene.

"As he was approaching the pharmacy, he is said to have been shouting ... that he belongs to the Daesh terrorist group," Klaus Rueschenschmidt, head of the Cologne police Special Tasks Directorate, told the German media at a press conference, citing witnesses to the incident and using an Arab acronym for IS.

Police confirmed that they do not rule out that the assailant might have had terrorist motives.
The perpetrator then holed up in a pharmacy behind the station, taking a woman hostage. He repeatedly threatened to burn his hostage alive.

He demanded a free passage as well as a release of a female Tunisian national, German media reported citing police and providing no further details. The suspect was armed with Molotov cocktails and gas cartridges, some of which were tied together with duct tape, Rueschenschmidt said. He also had a gun, but it is not yet clear whether it was a real gun or an airsoft revolver.

Authorities deployed the police special forces, known as SEK, as well as multiple officers and a helicopter. Following an hours-long stand-off, police stormed the pharmacy and freed the hostage, who had received "light" injuries. Police said a 14-year-old girl was injured in the fast-food restaurant earlier.

After storming the pharmacy and apprehending the assailant, police found a passport of a Syrian national at the scene. The document belonged to a 55-year-old man who received a provisional refugee status in Germany back in 2016. He was also previously known to police for various offenses, which include theft, physical assaults and trespassing, as well as drug dealing.

Investigators said the identity of the attacker is still not clear, adding that they cannot confirm if he is indeed the owner of the passport. However, the media reported that there is a "high probability" that the passport owner was indeed behind the incident, citing police.

The hostage taker, who was severely injured in the police operation, was taken to an intensive care unit in a local hospital.

[...]
It's curious how often passports are found by police at crime scenes like these: See also: Explosions and huge fire at Zurich central station