Berlin. A gunman opened fire at a mother-and-child centre in the German city of Dortmund this morning. Six people are dead. Ten more are injured. The shooter is dead. Police say he acted alone.
This is the latest in a string of violent incidents across Europe. It will fuel the narrative that the continent is losing control of its borders. The far-right will seize on it. They always do.
Details are scarce. The centre is a known safe space for vulnerable families. The timing, a Tuesday morning, suggests a deliberate choice. Chaos. Panic. The sort of thing that makes voters turn to strongmen.
Chancellor Scholz will face questions. His coalition is already fragile. The Greens and FDP are at each other's throats. Now this. The opposition will demand answers on security and integration. They will not get satisfactory ones.
The European security crisis is not new. It has been brewing since the Paris attacks. But the tempo is increasing. Every incident chips away at public trust. Governments seem helpless. They promise action. They deliver platitudes.
Westminster will be watching. The Home Secretary will be briefed. Expect a statement. Expect calls for review of UK security protocols. The usual dance.
Inside Whitehall, the mood is grim. This is not a one-off. It is a pattern. Analysts point to radicalisation online, lone actors, and stretched police resources. Solutions are expensive and politically toxic.
The Dortmund shooting will dominate headlines for days. Then it will fade. Another tragic data point in an increasingly violent landscape.
I have spoken to sources in the German interior ministry. They are rattled. They describe a 'new normal' they refuse to accept. But acceptance is coming, whether they like it or not.
Vigils will be held. Flowers will be laid. Politicians will tweet their condolences. And the security state will quietly expand its surveillance powers.
The game continues. The casualties are real.
