Several dead in shooting at Jehovah's Witness church in Hamburg

There were no indications that a perpetrator was on the run, a police spokesperson said, declining to say how many people were dead.

The Bild newspaper reported that seven people were dead and eight others injured in the shooting.

"Several people were seriously injured, some even fatally. We are on-site with a large contingent of forces," said Hamburg police on Twitter.

Broadcaster NDR quoted a police spokesperson saying that one or several unknown perpetrators shot at people in a church at about 9 p.m. local time (2000 GMT).

"The dead people all have gunshot wounds," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Television footage showed dozens of police cars as well as fire engines blocking off streets as sirens blared.

Shooter potentially among dead, says German police

The perpetrator of the shooting that left several people dead and others seriously injured could potentially be among the dead, said a spokesperson of the Hamburg police.

"We have no indications that a perpetrator is on the run, but rather indications that a perpetrator is possibly in the building, possibly even among the dead," said Holger Vehren from the Hamburg police. Police officers were called to the building at about 9pm on Thursday evening reports of shots being fired.

"The police officers who went in found people who may have been seriously injured by firearms, some of them fatally. The officers also heard a shot from the upper part of the building and went upstairs, where they also found a person," said Vehren. The reason for the shooting remains unclear, he added.

An eyewitness said he saw bodies being taken away in black bags. Police officers entered the building while emergency personnel ushered people away from the scene.

Reuters