Shooting at Mercedes factory in Germany leaves 2 dead; suspect detained

BERLIN — A man opened fire at a Mercedes-Benz factory in southwestern Germany on Thursday, leaving two people dead, authorities and the company said.

The shooting occurred in Sindelfingen, a city near Stuttgart. The suspect, a 53-year-old man, was taken into custody, a spokesman for the Stuttgart prosecutor’s office said.

Police received the first emergency calls around 7:45 a.m. (1:45 a.m. EDT) on Thursday, a police spokeswoman told German news agency dpa.

Police said the victims were both 44 years old but provided no further details about the dead men or the gunman’s motive.

All three worked for Rhenus, a logistics company, dpa reported.

Police tweeted that there was no further danger to employees at the plant.

In a statement, Mercedes-Benz said that two people were killed at its Sindelfingen plant and the company was “deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic news.”

“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all colleagues on site,” the statement said.

The sprawling Sindelfingen factory employs around 35,000 workers producing E-Class and S-Class luxury sedans and CLS and GLC coupes, according to Mercedes-Benz’s website. It also houses planning, purchasing and development and design departments.