Five people were killed in a shooting on Monday at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade, police said.
Two people were arrested, including the suspect who is alleged to have fired the shots.
Other people were wounded, police said, but they did not give a figure.
Police said the shooting took place in the facility on Dankersstrasse, a street south of the town centre.
The motive for the incident in Stade, close to the port city of Hamburg, was not immediately clear, according to a police spokesperson.
The role of the second individual in custody is unclear, a second police spokesperson told Reuters, adding that no other suspects were at large.
Local media reported that the incident had taken place near a youth centre in central Stade, a town of just below 50,000 people to the west of Hamburg.
That facility includes temporary accommodation for pregnant women or young mothers with children.
There was no danger to the public, police said.
Video footage after the shooting showed a large police presence, along with other emergency service personnel and several ambulances on a residential street.
Police said they were working to establish the background to the shooting and what exactly happened.
Vitali Mertens, who lives across the street from the scene, said he heard gunshots and “the whole area was cordoned off right away”.
He added that “the police sent me away”.
Germany’s gun laws are more restrictive than those in the United States, and mass shootings are rare but not unheard of.
Just after the incident took place, police had warned residents to stay clear of the area. – Reuters