Mass killer who shot six dead at German youth centre kills himself in prison after massacre over ‘custody battle’

A DEADLY mass shooting suspect accused of killing six people in a horrific gun rampage at a German youth centre has taken his own life in prison. Fatih Gazioglu, 45, was allegedly behind the massacre at a mother-and-baby centre near Hamburg in June which unfolded over a “custody battle”. Workers from an undertaker carry a covered body at the scene in Germany Credit: Reuters At least six people died after the shooting in June Credit: Reuters Lower Saxony authorities said the suspect took his own life while in police detention. The man was found dead during a routine check of his cell at 6:05am local time on Tuesday. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! There is no indication of foul play, cops added. An investigation into the circumstances of his death has been launched. Fatih Gazioglu, 45, was the main suspect in the case Credit: Police Six people died in the massacre Credit: AFP Gazioglu had been accused of gunning down six employees at a youth welfare facility in Stade last month. Five staff members died at the scene, while a sixth was later pronounced dead in hospital. The motive was initially unclear, but police said Gazioglu – a Turkish citizen born in Germany – was embroiled in a dispute over his three-month-old baby. His young child and the boy’s mum reportedly lived at the facility. Most read in The Sun The gunman and an accomplice tried to drive away from the site following the fatal gun rampage. But the pair were arrested after police shot out of of the vehicle’s tyres. A woman, 65, was questioned by police after being accused of being behind the wheel. The baby is reportedly under state care while his 34-year-old mum is being questioned. The facility where the shooting occurred, known as Stethu GmbH, offers 12-hour and 24-hour care at two locations. It can accommodate seven mothers between the ages of 16 and 30, including those with two children. Earlier this month, reports emerged that the suspect was allegedly a paedophile prison escapee. A Bild investigation found the suspect had previously been probed over multiple sexual assault cases. The suspect faced criminal proceedings for an alleged sexual offense in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, May 2007. He was also reportedly accused of sexually abusing his own daughter in June 2022 in Gaziantep. According to Turkish police records, the suspect had been in pretrial detention in 2021 for another alleged offence that took place before he was accused of abusing his child. Gazioglu was born in the Harz Mountains, Lower Saxony. His dad came from the Turkish province of Kahramanmaraş and died in Turkey in 2021. He had been married three times and divorced each time, reports say. Comment now