International Desk: At least 8 people have been killed and some seriously injured in a shooting in the northern German city of Hamburg, police say.
Read more: 3 arrested over Gulistan blast
The incident occurred at a Jehovah’s Witnesses centre at about 9pm local time on Thursday night.
The gunman is a former member of the religious community, aged between 30 and 40, Der Spiegel magazine reports.
Read more: Another death body recovered
The victims are yet to be identified, and work at the crime scene continues.
Police say they found a dead person at the scene who they believe may have been the perpetrator and investigations are continuing.
Read more: Six killed in Israeli army raid
"The officers also heard a shot from the upper part of the building and went upstairs, where they also found a person. So far we have no indications that any perpetrators fled."
Gregor Miesbach, who filmed the gunman shooting through a first-floor window, told the Bild newspaper: "I heard loud gunshots, went to the window to get a picture of the situation. I saw a man with a firearm shooting through a window and filmed it."
Read more: Explosion from accumulated gas
Lara Bauch, a student who lives nearby, told "there were about four bursts of gunfire - several shots were fired in each burst - with gaps lasting roughly 20 seconds to a minute".
Hamburg's Interior Minister Andy Grote said on Twitter that police special forces and a large number of officers had been deployed to the scene.
Read more: Half of the world will be ‘obese’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said his thoughts were with the victims of the shooting in Hamburg.
“Several members of a Jehovah community fell victim to a brutal act of violence last night,” Scholz tweeted. “My thoughts are with them and their loved ones.”
Sun News/MR
Copyright © Sunnews24x7Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated.