Eight people are shot dead and five more critically wounded in gun attacks on two hookah bars near Frankfurt
- Five other people thought to have been seriously injured in Kesselstadt district
- The incidents understood to have taken place at two separate bars in Hanau
- Witnesses reported hearing gun shots and seeing a one person on the ground
Police said eight people have been killed in shootings in the German city of Hanau on Wednesday evening.
Six other people are thought to have been seriously injured in the bloodbath in the Kesselstadt district of the city, which is near Frankfurt.
Police also said special units are chasing the perpetrators who fled the scene of the first attack in a dark-coloured car.
The short by authorities gave no information on the victims. It is not immediately clear what the reason for the shootings might have been.
Forensic experts are seen outside a shisha bar after a shooting in Hanau near Frankfurt
A police officer secures the area after a shooting in Hanau near Frankfurt, Germany
A Mercedes Benz is has been damaged with glass covering the floor as police look on at the crime scene
The Hessenschau regional broadcaster said two shooting incidents had taken place at two separate hookah bars.
It said witnesses reported hearing eight or nine shots and seeing at least one person lying on the ground.
The perpetrator or perpetrators then apparently went to another part of the city, where shots were fired in another hookah lounge, the broadcaster said.
Police said people were killed but it was not clear exactly what was behind the incident, the dpa news agency said.
No arrests have been made and the suspects are thought to be at large.
Hanau is around 12 miles east of Frankfurt.
There is a heavy police presence in Hanau this evening after a double shooting
