Gunman dead after killing one person and injuring four in German nightclub attack
The Iraqi gunman who opened fire at a nightclub in Germany has died in hospital following a shootout with police.
Gunman opens fire in nightclub in Germany
At least one person was killed and four others injured when a sole attacker opened fire at the packed-out Grey nightclub in the city of Konstanz - close to the Swiss border - in the early hours of the morning.
The nightclub is thought to have been hosting a student night at the time of the incident, which is believed to have lasted just minutes.
The 34-year-old suspect was seriously injured during an exchange of gunfire with special command officers outside the venue as he attempted to flee at around 4.30am local time.
He later died in hospital.
Nightclub shooting - one dead and three seriously injured
One police officer has also been injured during an exchange of gunfire - His injury is not thought to be life-threatening.
Special commando forces and a helicopter were deployed to the area as officers attempted to establish if the gunman was alone or had accomplices.
Konstanz police spokesman Fritz Bezikofer told broadcaster n-tv: "The motives of the man who acted alone are unclear.
“We are still investigating but the circumstances surrounding the events at the disco in the evening before the shooting are a bit clearer and this led us to rule out a terrorism background."
Witnesses told German broadcaster SWR that a club doorman appeared to have been shot with an automatic pistol as he tried to stop the attacker, and described seeing victims covered in blood as they were taken to hospital.
Special forces were deployed as the gunman opened fire at 2.30am
According to reports in the Bild newspaper, the shooter was an Iraqi national and was known to police.
Police said the gunman had lived in Germany for a number of years and was not an asylum seeker, adding that a dispute among criminals may have sparked the shooting.
Police also confirm the shooter used long rifle during the attack, which was not terror-related.
An eyewitness said : "He opened fired and shot randomly. The nightclub was packed. I guess several hundred people were there."
Local residents and visitors to the area were advised to remain indoors as officers searched the scene.
������������ #BREAKING: Konstanz: Two people dead, 4 others seriously wounded in a nightclub shooting. pic.twitter.com/mQgfXFT4lX
— Keith Walker (@KeithWalkerNews) July 30, 2017
The gunman and a police officer were injured in a gunfight
One killed, several wounded in a shooting incident in a disco in Konstanz, south Germany, the attacker is arrested: police pic.twitter.com/3RaYOPWvFv
— Guy Elster (@guyelster) July 30, 2017
According to a club patron, partygoers trapped inside the club during the attack were not allowed to leave for up to two hours as police worked to secure the scene.
A police spokesman said: “There were casualties at the shooting. Visitors saved themselves by escaping into the open or hiding.”
On Friday, a failed asylum seeker killed one person and injured six others in the northern city of Hamburg.
Officials said he was an Islamist known to security forces and was psychologically unstable.