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BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say a masked man who was shot dead after taking hostages in movie theater was armed only with a harmless replica rifle, a pistol and dummy grenades.
Darmstadt prosecutors said Friday it was still not clear what motives were behind the incident, but they had found no evidence the man had a political or terrorist background. They identified the suspect as a 19-year-old German born in Mannheim — about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the town where the incident occurred. They said the suspect lived in northern Germany but gave no other details.
He was killed by police after taking 18 people hostage in the theater in Viernheim and firing blank rounds into the air.
None of the man's captives were injured.
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