A masked man armed with a gun attacked a cinema in southwestern Germany on Thursday. The man who carried out the attack has been by killed by police, according to multiple reports.
The man reportedly entered the Kinopolis movie theater in the town of Viernheim, Germany, firing several shots before barricading himself in the theater with a group hostages. All the hostages eventually escaped when the police arrived, and it is unclear if his gun was loaded with real bullets, or he was simply firing blanks.
It is also unclear how many, if any, were hurt during the attack. A police spokesman said there were not believed to be any injuries, while some previous reports estimated there were between 20 to 50 injuries. If any injuries were sustained, they were minor effects from tear gas, which reportedly was thrown by the police.
Aside from the attacker's, no deaths have been reported.
According to the interior minister of the state of Hessen, Peter Beuth, "The police had an emergency call at 2:45 pm [...]. The caller said there was a masked man [...] armed with a long gun. It is unclear whether it was a real gun. The caller heard four shots and said that the masked man appeared a little mentally unstable. Police special forces were called." Beuth went on to confirm that police killed the attacker.
While the man's motives are unknown at this time, the attack will no doubt draw comparisons to a similar shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. in 2012, which resulted in 12 deaths.