Six people were found shot dead in a Chinese restaurant in northern Germany on Monday in what police said might have been a triad killing.
The bodies of three men and three women, some with their hands bound, were scattered throughout the Lin Yue restaurant in Sittensen, Lower Saxony, according to a police spokesperson.
Among the victims were the married couple, known to locals as Enni and Denni, who had owned the restaurant and lived above it for 10 years. A child found unhurt in the restaurant was believed to be the couple’s two-year-old daughter.
The bodies were discovered by a man who went to pick up his wife who worked at the restaurant. Detlev Kaldinski, the police spokesperson, said: “This morning at 12.30am a man went to pick up his wife from work there. He discovered several dead bodies, among them his wife.
“He called the police and a manhunt got under way, sadly without success. We know nothing about the background to the crime and nothing about the motive. So far that is still unclear. We’re investigating every possibility including organised crime.”
Another male worker was found alive but was said to be in a life-threatening condition and was being treated in intensive care in a local hospital.
The federal criminal police — the BKA, Germany’s equivalent of the FBI — were called in to investigate after evidence suggested the killings might have been carried out by a triad gang and involved extortion for money.
The killings shocked the citizens of Sittensen, south of Hamburg, who described the family as friendly and integrated into the community of 10 000 people.
Police were attempting to trace everyone who had visited the restaurant over the weekend. But by Monday evening they were little closer to solving the crime. Their only witness was the man who had found the bodies. He was being seen by a psychologist on Monday night.
The restaurant, a popular meeting place with locals, is on the first floor of a strip of commercial property.
“It was a great place and the people who ran it were very much part of the community,” said Stefan Tiemann, the mayor of Sittensen. He described the crime as “terrible” and said it had shaken the small community.
Hilly Behrens, who described herself as a friend of the restaurant owners, said: “They were lovely people. I’ve never seen an angry face there.”
Peter Senkpiel, a regular guest, told Spiegel Online. “The owners always greeted us personally with a handshake.”
Hours after the discovery of the bodies they were still lying where they had been found as forensic scientists worked to gather evidence.
“We are checking every nook and cranny, every piece of dust,” Kaldinski told journalists. “One of our biggest challenges will be how to remove the bodies under the glare of the media.” – Guardian Unlimited Â