‘Masked Man’ Opens Fire In German Cinema Complex

A masked man has been shot and killed after attacking a cinema in Germany. Reports suggest up to 50 people were  injured, but not seriously.

Update: 

Police have ruled out links to terrorism and Islamic Jihadi groups, a spokesman for the police press office in Darmstadt, Bernd Hochstädter, has told German daily Die Welt. However, many questions remain unanswered about the attacker’s identity and motive.  

“There is no evidence of a motive, one thing we can say with certainty: there is no Islamist background”, he said.

Explosives experts have combed the nearby area for signs of bombs or other devices. Nothing has been found other than a stray backpack. 

From before: 

Between to 20 and 50 people have been injured in the industrial town of Viernheim, West Germany. The gunman barricaded himself inside the building, and there were reports he had take hostages.

However the only fatality reported is the attacker himself, and the Bild newspaper reports that the injuries were caused by Police tear gas. There are no reports of bullet wounds.

The regional Interior Ministry has now confirmed that the gunman was shot and killed.

Police sources also told Frankfurter Allgemeine that the situation has ended and there is no further danger.

It remains unclear if there was a political or ideological motive or whether it was a robbery that went wrong.

 

The attacker entered the Kinopolis complex at around 3pm local time. He was masked and had a cartridge belt slung around his shoulders, Reuters reports. 

A large number of Police, including SEC armed special forces from Frankfurt, are at the scene and have cordoned off the area.

More follows…