A German federal police officer has died in a shooting exercise at the Putlos military training area in northern Germany, authorities said on Tuesday.
Police and prosecutors said initial findings suggest the incident in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein on Monday, involving a member of the federal police's special forces, was an accident.
An investigation was launched immediately.
The federal police in Berlin stated that no further information would be provided due to the ongoing investigation. They noted that the Schleswig-Holstein police were leading the investigation.
According to the Bundeswehr, Germany's military, the Putlos military training area, is flat and only slightly hilly with sparse tree cover.
It also includes beach areas and cliffs. Here, emergency services can train for complex situations and carry out various shooting exercises.
Fatal shootings during exercises and training are considered rare in Germany, but serious accidents have occurred in recent years.
In Putlos, for example, there was an incident involving a firearm in June 2022 when an instructor accidentally struck a police cadet on the upper arm during a training session. The cadet was taken to hospital with injuries.
In Bonn, in October 2018, a 23-year-old police officer died after being shot in the neck from behind by a colleague with a loaded service weapon whilst on his way to shooting practice. The shooter received a suspended sentence for manslaughter.
