At least five dead in shooting in Germany

TT

Updated 15.07 | Published 13.56

  

Police and rescue services at the crime scene in Stade in northern Germany. Photo: Ibrahim Ot/AFP/TT

Five people have been killed in a shooting in the city of Stade in northern Germany, Lüneburg police announced on X.

Several others have been injured.

Five people have been killed in the shooting in the central parts of the city, a police spokesman said, reports Bild.

– Shots were fired near a hostel in the city center, a police spokesman told the German news agency DPA.

Two suspected perpetrators have reportedly been arrested, including the suspected shooter. The motive is not clear.

The police station is located near the crime scene, according to Bild. Police are urging the public to avoid the area.

The community of Stade in the German state of Lower Saxony has a population of about 48,000 and is located a few kilometers west of Hamburg.

According to police, there is no further threat to the public.

Germany has some of Europe's strictest gun laws, requiring everyone under the age of 25 to undergo a psychiatric examination before applying for a gun license, writes AFP. Mass shootings are relatively rare.