German police alerted to shots, find sleeping man and TV

BERLIN – German police called to the scene of a suspected shooting found a man who had fallen asleep with an action film running at top volume on TV.

Police in Cologne said several people on Wednesday morning reported hearing shots from an apartment somewhere in their neighbourhood. Several police teams surrounded two neighbouring buildings at about 7.30 a.m. and started searching the apartments.

The cause of the disturbance was tracked down quickly once officers had called in a locksmith to open a locked door — a slumbering man in front of a television showing an action film.

The 34-year-old, who wasn’t registered as living at the address, was taken to the police station but let go after his identity was established.