2 killed in shooting in eastern Germany, 1 person arrested

BERLIN — Two people were killed Wednesday in a shooting in the eastern German city of Halle and the suspected assailants fled, police said.

Several shots were fired and the suspected assailants then fled in a car, police said in a tweet. They urged residents to stay in their homes or indoors.

A short time later, police reported that one person had been arrested. They gave no information on that person. Pictures from the scene showed a body lying in the street behind a police cordon.

Police didn't give any further information but said officers were out in force in the city hunting down the suspects.

They gave no details about the target of the attack and there were varying reports. The Bild and Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspapers reported that the shooting took place near a synagogue — Wednesday is the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. A person interviewed on n-tv television said that he had been in a kebab shop when he saw a man with a helmet and military jacket, who he said fired shots into the shop.

Police said that shots were also fired in Landsberg, about 15 miles (just under 10 miles) from Halle. It wasn't clear whether that incident was related to the shooting in the city.

The railway station in Halle, a city of 240,000, was closed down as a precaution amid the police operation.