It is not the first time that the police have been called to the former holiday home complex with the extensive plots of land in Bienenbüttel, Lower Saxony.

So far, it has always been about verbal disputes between a hunter and a neighboring couple.

It escalated on Friday afternoon: according to the police's previous findings, the 85-year-old shot the 62-year-old neighbor and his 61-year-old wife with one of his guns.

"We assume that the man then directed himself with one of his legal firearms in the residential building," said police chief Kai Richter on Saturday.

No other people were involved.

All three of those killed had gunshot wounds.

The public prosecutor's office was informed of all the results of the crime just a few kilometers south of Lüneburg.

“We are assuming a short-sighted action”

There is a history of disputes between the neighbors, but these have not previously escalated.

The residents were completely surprised and shocked.

"You couldn't imagine it, those involved had lived in the idyllic settlement for years," said Richter.

"We are assuming an absolute knee-jerk action."

A pastor provided pastoral care to the residents.

The rural area was initially evacuated, and emergency shelters were assigned to neighbors until they could return to their homes in the evening.

The Mayor of Bienenbüttel, Merlin Franke, was also very concerned, Richter said.

The exact connections are still unclear

The police's crime scene work was largely completed during the night, and the bodies are now being examined by forensic experts.

The results of the autopsy are expected to be available next week.

The exact context of what happened in the residential area in Bargdorf, a district of Bienenbüttel in the Uelzen district, is still unclear.

The suspect is a German.

He had a hunting license and is said to have owned several guns.

That is why the police, according to their own statements, proceeded with a high degree of caution during the operation in the Lüneburg Heath.

Special police forces from Hamburg approached with an armored vehicle - also a special task force from Hanover.

Forensic pathologists from Hamburg came, and forensic technicians in white suits were also on duty.

The experts should reconstruct the course of the crime on the extensive property, said the police spokesman.

The senior's legal firearms were seized.

On Saturday, the extensive barriers were lifted, dog owners went for a walk with their animals in nature.

Few technicians were seen on the property.