Ambulances are at the scene and German police are searching for the attackers, who may have managed to flee the scene.
Hamburg police tweeted that a large-scale operation was underway in the Alsterdorf area.
According to several media reports, the shooting happened at a Jehovah’s Witness center.
A police spokesman working at the scene said that investigators have indications that there may be a criminal in the building who may be among the dead.
“The officers themselves also heard the shot from the upper floors of the building. They went upstairs and found the body there too. However, it is not clear whether this is the shooter,” added the press representative.
People living nearby have been warned not to leave their homes while the police operation is underway.
The motive is unclear
Police said the circumstances surrounding the shooting at the Jehovah’s Witnesses event are still unclear.
“At this time, there is no reliable information regarding the motive for the crime,” police tweeted.
Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher called the reports “shocking” on Twitter.
“My deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” he wrote.
Attacks in Germany
In recent years, Germany has been rocked by several attacks by both jihadists and far-right extremists.
One of the deadliest attacks by Islamic extremists was in 2016. December. when an attacker from Tunisia drove a truck into people walking at the Christmas market in Berlin. 12 people were killed in the attack.
Europe’s most populous nation remains a target for jihadist groups, particularly because of its involvement in the coalition once morest the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
According to the data of the German Ministry of the Interior, from 2013 to 2021 the number of Islamists considered dangerous in the country increased fivefold to 615.
But Germany has also seen several far-right attacks in recent years, prompting accusations that the government is not doing enough to curb neo-Nazi violence.
in 2020 February. A far-right extremist shot dead 10 people and wounded five others in the central German city of Hanau.
in 2019 two people were killed following a neo-Nazi tried to storm a synagogue in Halle on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
