‘Armed’ man shot dead after incident at German cinema

A man has been shot dead after entering a cinema in south-western Germany, apparently with a weapon, according to police.

They say they believe that no one else was injured in the incident.

Police spokesman Bernd Hochstaedter said authorities were told early on

Thursday afternoon that an armed man had entered the Kinopolis movie theatre in the town of Viernheim and that shots had apparently been fired.

Hesse’s interior minister, Peter Beuth, said it was not clear whether the weapon was real.

Hochstaedter said that the police deployment lasted around three hours.

He said: “We believe that there were no injured people, and that the people who were in the cinema with the perpetrator could be freed uninjured.”