Two people have been found dead after a gunman opened fire at an Aldi store in central Germany on Tuesday.
The murderer stormed the supermarket at around 1 pm local time in Schwalmstadt-Treysa, a town of around 8,500 people northeast of Germany’s financial capital Frankfurt.
German police are currently on-site and say there is no further danger to the population.
A police spokesperson said: “The background to the crime is currently unknown. The police are on site with strong forces. There is no danger to the population.”
According to reports, eyewitnesses said a man followed a woman inside the store. She then screamed for help before the gunman shot her and turned the gun on himself, taking his own life.
(
Karsten Socher / BILD)
According to current police knowledge, no other people were injured apart from the two victims who have been identified as a 53-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man, HNA Newspaper reports.
A witness says many customers did not realise what happened at first, as it sounded like a glass had broken.
There are around seven police cars and two ambulances parked in front of the building, while employees and witnesses are being looked after in a nearby cafe.
Germany has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe and one of the lowest gun-related death rates.
You must be at least 18-years-old to apply for a license and also undergo a reliability check, which is where criminal records are checked, there are checks to see if the person is an alcohol or drug addict and whether they have a mental illness.
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