What we know with certainty about the operation at the Luisenhospital:
On Monday evening around 11 p.m., the dangerous situation in Aachen’s Luisenhospital was ended by special police forces. The police say the perpetrator was a 65-year-old woman who barricaded herself in a room in the hospital.
Shortly after the woman entered the hospital in the afternoon, hospital employees observed heavy smoke developing in the building. In the evening, the fire brigade reported a fire in the bed area, which could only be extinguished with a lot of personnel.
The Luisenhospital was partially evacuated. There was obviously a connection between the crime in the Luisenhospital and a fire in an apartment building in Eschweiler-Röhe in the early afternoon.
At the Luisenhospital in Aachen, the large-scale police operation lasted late into the night, then the special police unit struck. Aachen police spokesman Andreas Müller confirmed around 11 p.m. on Monday evening that the dangerous situation that had kept the emergency services and the entire staff as well as the patients in the Luisenhospital in suspense had ended. The 65-year-old was injured during the attack. When she was taken out of the hospital afterwards, she was lying on a stretcher and was taken to an ambulance for initial treatment, which remained at the scene for a long time.
Luisenhospital: SEK overwhelms 65-year-olds © Bartczak, Kreutz, Felker, Hinrichs
It was confirmed early on Monday evening by the Cologne police, who had taken over press sovereignty in the operational situation, that a 65-year-old woman had entered the hospital shortly before 5 p.m. Shortly afterwards, employees noticed a “smoke development” in the woman’s immediate area. The woman then barricaded herself in a room. It was unclear at this point whether a hostage-taking had taken place, but this was no longer mentioned later.
Whether the woman was undoubtedly responsible for a fire in the bed area of the Luisenhospital that was reported to the fire department around 5 p.m. could not be conclusively clarified late on Monday evening. There was also information that she was said to have ignited a smoke pot or pyrotechnics. These questions will be explained in more detail during Tuesday, it was said in the evening.
A message from the city of Aachen from the fire department at 10:53 p.m. definitely read like this: “The fire in the bed area of the Luisenhospital has been extinguished, the area is smoke-free.” The city spoke of a major operation on site involving 396 people ( without police forces), this included, in addition to the forces on site, other standbys in the area as well as the 30-person staff in the fire department’s premises. According to the city, 73 affected people from the Luisenhospital were cared for. Further: “Four people from the intensive care unit have to be transported to other hospitals. 270 patients can stay in hospital. The emergency pastoral care is represented by eleven people.”
The situation in and around the Luisenhospital was extremely tense for hours. According to police, the surrounding rooms around the woman’s whereabouts had been evacuated. According to reports, the woman initially stayed in the operating room of the hospital and then barricaded herself in the room on the first floor. The police did not confirm information that the 65-year-old had threatened hospital workers with a weapon.
Train traffic: route closure lifted
Information that had been available to our editorial team since 9 p.m., according to which the 65-year-old was connected to a fire that broke out in an apartment building in Eschweiler-Röhe early on Monday afternoon, was confirmed by press spokesman Müller in one sentence in his statement on site. According to information from our newspaper, the woman apparently had psychological problems. A Cologne police spokeswoman said that a letter had been found that “provides information about the crime.” She did not want to give further details.
Fire destroys apartment in an Eschweiler apartment building
A large number of police and fire departments had been on site since the afternoon hours of Monday. Observers counted around 100 emergency vehicles, and our reporters on site spoke of an operation of extraordinary proportions. Emergency vehicles lined up along the pit pit. Police special operations teams also arrived on site early and prepared for their operation with heavy security equipment. The area around the boxing pit was closed.
In the evening, partially distraught people could be seen in front of the building being led out of the building. Patients were reportedly transferred to other hospitals. Many residents and onlookers gathered behind barriers.
At X, formerly Twitter, The police called on people to avoid the area for hours. There were also restrictions on rail traffic. The railway line runs behind the Luisenhospital.
Tweet from the Aachen police about the large-scale operation at the Luisenhospital. Photo: Screenshot X
The Luisenhospital has over 1,500 employees, 378 beds and over 17,000 medical cases per year. The hospital’s reactions to the extraordinary and threatening situation on Monday as well as further details from the police and fire brigade will follow later on Tuesday.