Overview

• Emergency services were alerted Sunday evening in Cologne after shots were heard from a residential balcony.
• Police cordoned off the street and called in special forces following reports of a man on a balcony holding a weapon.
• SEK officers overpowered the 43-year-old in his apartment roughly four hours after the initial emergency call.
• Authorities said the firearm was a Schreckschuss blank-firing gun, which does not fire live ammunition.
• Details were provided by a police spokesperson in statements reported by dpa, with inquiries into the background ongoing.