BERLIN -- Two people died in a shooting at a Mercedes-Benz factory in southwestern Germany on Thursday.
The incident happened at Mercedes' plant in Sindelfingen, near Stuttgart, where the automaker builds its flagship S-Class and EQS sedans.
Two 44-year-old men died after the shooting in a production hall at the factory, with one of the victims succumbing to his wounds in hospital, according to local police.
The alleged assailant — a 53-year-old man — opened fire on the victims before security workers held him down and handed him over to police, police and the local prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The suspect did not resist arrest, they said. They are investigating the motive.
The factory, which has a workforce of 35,000, was evacuated following the shooting, which took place after the suspect entered the site at 7:45 a.m. local time.
Mercedes said production at Sindelfingen was put on hold while police searched the building where the shooting happened. It was not yet clear when production would resume, a spokesperson said.
The victims and the suspect were employees of an external service provider, Mercedes said.
"We are deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic news from Sindelfingen this morning. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all colleagues on site," Mercedes said in a statement.
Sindelfingen is one of Mercedes’ largest factories worldwide.
Auto factories in Germany are well-secured, with entry highly controlled. Incidents of any kind are extremely rare.
The German government has said it will 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.
Bloomberg contributed to this report
