AT least seven people have been killed and 17 more left injured after shots were fired at a church in Hamburg tonight.
Emergency services were scrambled to the scene in Alsterdorf shortly after 9pm.
Dozens of armed cops descended on the scene of the shooting in Alsterdorf[/caption]
Emergency services were scrambled to the scene shortly after 9pm[/caption]
Armed police officers outside the Jehovah’s Witness centre[/caption]
German authorities said one or more people opened fire in the church in Hamburg[/caption]
According to BILD, seven people have been confirmed dead and at least seven more are seriously injured after a gunman opened fire at a Jehovah’s Witness church.
It’s understood the gunman has been found dead.
German police said: “There is a large police operation in Alsterdorf.
“We are currently examining the background and will provide more information shortly.
“So far, there is no reliable information on the motive for the crime.”
A police spokesman said those killed “all have gunshot wounds” and added “there is no indication of a fleeing perpetrator”.
Pictures from the scene show dozens of emergency vehicles outside a Jet petrol station.
Police have ordered local residents not to leave their homes and warned of “extreme danger” via the country’s disaster warning app.
They were told “one or more unknown perpetrators shot at people in a church”.
The message said: “Seek shelter in a building immediately.
“Only use the phone in extreme emergencies so the lines don’t collapse.”
Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher said: “The reports from Alsterdorf are shocking.
“My deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
“The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrators and clarify the background.”
Germany has been rocked by several attacks in recent years.
Among the deadliest committed by far-right extremists was a truck rampage at a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that killed 12 people.
In February 2020 a far-right extremist shot dead 10 people and wounded five others in the central German city of Hanau.
And in 2019, two people were killed after a neo-Nazi tried to storm a synagogue in Halle on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
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A cordon in place in Alsterdorf, Hamburg after the shooting[/caption]