Germany: Man takes 3 hostages at city hall

A gunman took three people hostage at the city hall in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt on Monday, officials said, and a planned election rally there featuring Chancellor Angela Merkel was canceled. The hostage-taker was a young man armed with a handgun, and the hostages were believed to include a deputy mayor, Sepp Misslbeck, police spokesman Hans-Peter Kammerer said. The incident started shortly before 9 am (0700 GMT) Monday and another police spokesman, Guenther Beck, said police were in contact with the man by telephone, AP reported. There was no immediate word on what he wanted. German news agency dpa reported that Bavaria's state interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, said the man had previously stalked a female employee at the city hall. The hostage-taking happened several hours before Merkel was due in the city for a late afternoon rally that was to take place on the square in front of the city hall. Germany holds national elections on Sept 22, and Bavaria votes in a state election a week earlier. There was no indication of any connection between the visit and the hostage-taking. However, Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union said it decided to cancel the rally. The old city hall, one of two city halls in Ingolstadt, dates back to the 14th century, though the building was expanded in the 19th century. It is home to the mayor's office and the city's tourist information office, among other administrative departments. Ingolstadt is located some 44 miles (70 kilometers) North of Munich and has about 125,000 inhabitants.