‘I saw German cinema shooter at the popcorn counter but thought he was a fan in costume until he opened fire’: Witness describes terrifying ordeal after gunman let off tear gas and took hostages
- Masked gunman opened fire at the Kinopolis cinema complex
- Suspect was seen entering the cinema wearing a mask and munition belt
- As people ran screaming he unleashed tear gas
- Police received call saying there was a man ‘armed with a long gun’
- The cinema is located in the town of Viernheim, in Western Germany
A terrified worker at a German cinema has revealed how he mistook a gunman for a film fan wearing a costume before he opened fire and took them hostage.
Guri Blakaj initially dismissed the masked man who stormed the Kinopolis cinema complex in Viernheim, Western Germany, at about 3pm on Thursday carrying a gun and ammunition belt.
He believed the man he saw standing ‘by the popcorn stand’ to be a customer wearing a costume, complete with the belt of cartridges draped across his shoulder.
Scroll down for video
Reports people were injured by tear gas have been dismissed by police, who say there were no other injuries.
The interior minister of the state of Hessen, Peter Beuth, announced the perpetrator’s death in the state parliament in Wiesbaden.
He said: ‘The police had an emergency call at 2:45pm [12:45 GMT]. The caller said there was a masked man… armed with a long gun. It is unclear whether it was a real gun.
‘The caller heard four shots and said that the masked man appeared a little mentally unstable. Police special forces were called.’
Police spokesman Bernd Hochstaedter said that ‘there are no indications at present of an Islamist background.’
Video footage has emerged of a large group of heavily-armed police storming the cinema. They are shown creeping up against the wall before entering the building.
The motive for the attack is unclear – whether he is a ‘lone wolf’ terrorist or a deranged individual.
The incident has echos of the Aurora cinema mass shooting that occurred in Colorado in 2012.
Gunman James Holmes murdered 12 people and injured 70 others when he opened fire during a midnight showing of the film The Dark Night Rises.
Holmes entered the cinema wearing tactical clothing and set off tear gas and grenades into the audience.
He was arrested minutes later in his car parked outside the cinema.
On Thursday, Elite SEK police commandos were helicoptered to the scene in Germany and ambulances have ferried the injured to local hospitals.
The Kinopolis cinema complex is located in the town of Viernheim.
Source
