German police announced Thursday that several people were killed in a shooting at a church in the northern city of Hamburg.
"Initial indications are that shots were fired at a church in Delbogy Street in the Grosborstel area. Several people were seriously injured, some of them fatal," police said on Twitter.
The Hamburg police added, "There are a large number of security forces in the place," suggesting that the perpetrator of the operation was killed. The police did not give an accurate death toll, but German media said that 6 people died during this operation.
For its part, the popular daily newspaper Bild reported that the shooting took place "in the church of Jehovah's Witnesses" in the north of the city, and the Federal Office for Civil Protection said, "Around nine in the evening, one or more unknown persons opened fire on people in a church."
According to a number of media outlets, residents of the city were warned of a "severe threat" via a disaster alert app, and the police called on them to avoid the area in question.
"Immediately take cover in a building," the alert said.
Residents were also advised to use "the telephone only in cases of extreme emergency, so as not to overburden the lines."