Germany: Cops kill gunman who opened fire in cinema hall

Berlin: Several people have been injured in a shooting at a cinema hall in the south-western German town of Vierheim near Frankfurt, FAZ newspaper reported on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_2852656” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Observers at a cinema in the south-western German town of Viernheim near Frankfurt after a heavily-armed masked man opened fired at the complex. DPA[/caption] One heavily-armed masked man entered the cinema complex at about 3 pm (1400 GMT) and barricaded himself inside, the report said, adding that witnesses had heard gunshots. The Bild tabloid says about 25 people have been injured by tear gas used by police. Security sources told DPA that the man was likely a lone perpetrator and not a terrorist. Peter Beuth, the interior minister of Hesse, the state where the shooting took place, told parliament that special forces had “fought and killed” the man, who had been visibly confused and fired at least four shots inside the cinema with a rifle. But he also said it wasn’t clear whether the weapon was real. All the hostages were released unhurt. Police spokeswoman Christiane Kobus said that the man held several hostages at the Kinopolis movie theatre in the town of Viernheim but she didn’t have a precise number. Officers “successively entered the cinema and were able to locate the man and the people he was holding,” Kobus told The Associated Press. “There was a threat situation and the man was then shot dead by a colleague.” Police said that the deployment lasted about three hours. There were no other injuries, Kobus said, adding that she had no information on the assailant’s identity and motives. Norbert Schaetzle, a spokesman for police in the nearby city of Mannheim, said that the police force was not directly involved in the incident, but had sent officers to support their colleagues in the town. The cinema complex was cordoned off and a special police commando was on its way to the scene by helicopter, a Frankfurt police spokesman said. With inputs from AP and DPA