German airport closed after armed man breaches security with his car

BERLIN — The airport in the northern German city of Hamburg was closed to passengers and flights were canceled Saturday night after a vehicle broke through security and entered the premises, the German news agency dpa reported.

Federal police said an armed man had broken through a gate with his vehicle and fired twice into the air with a weapon. Police also said the man’s wife had previously contacted them about a possible child abduction.

Police said later that the 35-year-old man had a 4-year-old child inside the car and that they assumed he was the father and had taken the child by force from the mother in a possible custody battle.

Federal police spokesman Thomas Gerbert told dpa that a large number of officers from state and federal police were on site and in the vicinity of the vehicle.

Police also said that a psychologist was talking with the man and that there was no indication other people could be harmed since all passengers had evacuated the airport.