Attention: this video contains confrontational images
The police report that shots were fired in a church in the northern Alsterdorf district. According to German media, it is a center for Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The police speak of a “sizeable situation” and cordoned off the area. First responders are on the scene and hospitals are said to have been asked to prepare for a large number of casualties. Residents are asked not to leave their homes.
A police spokesperson reported to the German Focus that there are currently no indications that the perpetrator is on the run, but Tagesschau reports that the police are scouring the area with a helicopter and thermal imaging camera. It is unclear whether the perpetrator is among the fatalities.
The police are currently not providing any information on the number of victims. “Several people were seriously injured, some fatally,” it said on Twitter.
The circumstances of the shooting are not yet clear, the police said, asking not to speculate about the motive of the perpetrator(s).