Cologne train station hostage situation in Germany today

Last Updated Oct 15, 2018 9:17 AM EDT

BERLIN -- Cologne police closed parts of the western German city's main train station for a couple hours on Monday as a hostage situation played out. Police officer Christoph Schulte told The Associated Press that the incident appeared to have started Monday at 12:45 p.m. He said parts of the station, one of the biggest in the country, were closed off as well as Breslauer Platz square behind the station.

Police released a statement a couple hours later saying a single suspect had been taken into custody. "The suspect is under control," Cologne's police said after indicating a man had been holding one woman against her will. "A female hostage has sustained light injuries and is being tended to."

Police used Twitter earlier on Monday to warn people to avoid the station as ambulances and heavily-armed police lined up behind the train station, the daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger reported.

The police said in a subsequent tweet that there had been no shots fired and there were no immediate reports of casualties. Police said there was no immediate suspicion of a link to terrorism.

German railroad operator Deutsche Bahn tweeted earlier that some of the station's tracks were shut down temporarily and trains were being canceled or delayed.

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