A mass shooting took place in Viernheim, Germany, near Frankfurt today. A gunman wearing a mask opened fire in a movie theater complex in the small western German town, German media reported.
Elite forces stormed the cinema complex and sealed it off, the German Mannheimer Morgen newspaper reported, and police shot the gunman dead.
The Darmstaedter Echo reported that 20 to 50 people were wounded. Bild daily reported that police said some 25 of those people were hurt because of exposure to tear gas.
Focus Online magazine earlier reported that German police had arrested the man.
Reuters reports that German police were not immediately available for comment.
Several media reported that the man had entered the cinema complex at around 3 pm local time (1100 EDT). The Frankfurter Allgemeine said it was unclear if there was a political or ideological motive or whether it was a robbery that went wrong.
Police have confirmed that the attacker did take hostages before he was shot dead. Speaking to N-TV a police spokesman said that no other people were injured during during the attack at Kinopolis complex in Viernheim.
According to local reports, a gunman has opened fire at a cinema in Germany. Not much info on this one yet: https://t.co/8DrWamVufk
— Alexander Smith (@AlexSmithNBC) June 23, 2016
Some reports suggest Viernheim injuries from tear gas. Remember early reports are always a mess in these events – https://t.co/1qvTvQpXT3
— Blogs of War (@BlogsofWar) June 23, 2016
Hesse's interior minister, Peter Beuth, has confirmed that the #viernheim gunman is dead. It appears the ~25 injuries were due to tear gas.
— Sewell Chan (@sewellchan) June 23, 2016