Gunman ‘shot and killed’ after cinema shooting, but no others injured
A gunman wearing a mask has been killed by police after opening fire in a German cinema complex.
The German media initially reported that more than 50 people had been injured in the attack in Viernheim, but police have now said there were no injuries.
The man, who had his face covered, was inside a cinema complex, and had been surrounded by armed police. After barricading himself in the Kinopolis complex at 3pm, he fired four shots.
Police said there was an “unclear threat situation”, and local media suggested that the man carried a gun and ammunition belt.
Hesse’s interior minister, Peter Beuth confirmed that he had been killed, but said he was unsure whether the gun he had used was real.
“We believe that there were no injured people, and that the people who were in the cinema with the perpetrator could be freed uninjured,” he said, describing him as “disturbed”.
Police spokesman Bernd Hochstaedter said the incident lasted around three hours.
Christiane Kompus, a police spokeswoman at the scene, said several hostages had been held, but were uninjured. She said police were investigating a motive.
The attack comes just weeks after 49 people were killed and 53 injured in the shocking terrorist hate crime mass shooting, which saw a gunman open fire inside The Pulse gay bar in Orlando, Florida.
Last week in the UK, Labour MP Jo Cox was killed after being stabbed and shot outside an advice surgery.
One man, Thomas Mair, has been arrested and charged with murder over the killing – and police are probing alleged links to far-right groups. Appearing in court, Mair stated his name as “death to traitors, freedom for Britain”.
