German police announced, on Thursday, that several people were killed in a shooting inside a church in the northern city of Hamburg.
Police said on Twitter: “Initial indications are that shots were fired at a church in Delbogy Street in Grosborstel. Several people sustained serious injuries, some of them fatal.”
Police reported that they are conducting a major operation in the Alsterdorf region to track down the perpetrators.
And media reported that at least 6 people were killed in the attack, the “Focus Online” media service reported on Thursday, citing the fire service.
Focus confirmed that the perpetrators are on the run, adding that emergency services and doctors rushed to the scene.
For its part, the popular daily “Bild” reported that the shooting took place in the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” church in the north of the city.
The Federal Civil Protection Office said: “At about nine o’clock on Thursday evening, one or more unidentified persons opened fire on people in a church.”
According to a number of media outlets, residents of the city were warned of an “extreme threat” via a disaster alert app, and the police called on them to avoid the area in question.
The warning read: “Immediately take cover in a building.” Recommendations were also issued to the public to use the “telephone only in cases of extreme emergency, in order to avoid pressure on networks.”