Two dead after shooting at German Mercedes plant Suspect detained

A suspect was detained after a shooting at a Mercedes-Benz plant in southwestern Germany left two people dead on May 11, adding to pressure on Germany to tighten its already-strict gun laws.

The suspect was identified as a 53-year-old man, according to Reuters.

Mercedes-Benz said two people had died. The Stuttgart prosecutor confirmed that a second person had died and said no one else was injured.

"One person is in police custody. The persons are employees of an external service provider," Mercedes said in a statement.

Investigators are working on the assumption of a single perpetrator in the shooting, and that no individuals outside the factory were involved, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office said.

The German government had vowed to tighten its gun laws further after a gunman opened fire on people gathered in a Jehovah's Witnesses hall in Hamburg in March, killing six.

Germany outlawed certain large magazines in 2020 and conducts five-yearly checks on gun owners to ascertain whether their possession of a weapon is justified.

Mercedes-Benz produces its flagship S-Class luxury sedan at the location in Sindelfingen, located some 17 kilometres southwest of Stuttgart. Some 35,000 people are employed at the site.