At least 8 people killed in shootings in Hanau, Germany
Eight people were killed on Wednesday in two shootings in the western German city of Hanau, police said.
Police special units are chasing the perpetrators, who fled the scene of the first attack, around 10 p.m. local time, in a dark-coloured car, according to police.
Another shooting was reported at a second site, where at least five people were very seriously injured.
It was not immediately clear who or what was behind the shootings.
A heavy police presence was in place in central Hanau, with officers cordoning off the scene of one of the shootings as a helicopter hovered overhead. A car covered in thermal foil also could be seen, with shattered glass next to it.
Forensic experts in white overalls collected evidence from the scene.
Hanau is in southwestern Germany, about 20 kilometres east of Frankfurt. It has about 100,000 inhabitants.
Regional public broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk reported, without citing sources, that an attack took place in a hookah lounge in the centre of the city. It said witnesses reported hearing eight or nine shots and seeing at least one person lying on the ground.
The perpetrator or perpetrators then apparently went to another part of the city, where shots were fired in another hookah lounge, the broadcaster said.
