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Several fatalities have been reported in relation to a shooting incident at a church in the Alsterdorf district of Hamburg, Germany, on Thursday (March 9), local police said via NBC News.
"According to initial findings, a shot was fired in a church on Deelböge street in the #GroßBorstel district. Several people were seriously injured, some even fatally. We are on site with a large contingent of forces. Further information follows," Hamburg Police said in a translated tweet.
The department later shared an update stating that "there is no reliable information on the motive for the crime" and asked the public to "not share unsecured assumptions and/or spread" rumors in relation to the incident.
Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher called the reports shared by local authorities "shocking" and offered his "deepest condolences to the families of the victims" in a translated tweet.
"The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrator (s) and to clarify the background. Please note the information of @PolizeiHamburg," Tschentscher wrote.
The German KATWARN system issued an alert at around 9:00 p.m. local time urging all citizens to avoid the area as it was being blocked off.
The Alsterdorf district is located approximately seven miles from downtown Hamburg, which is Germany's second-largest city and has a population greater than 5 million in its metropolitan region, according to data from the Council of Europe.