Policewomen stand guard near the scene of a shooting in central Hanau, Germany
AP
Eight people were killed in shootings in the German borough of Hanau on Wednesday evening, authorities said. Two hookah lounges reportedly were targeted.
Authorities were searching for the perpetrators pioneer Thursday, three hours after the shootings which took place at about 10 p.m. (2100 GMT).
A short the gendarmes statement gave no information on the victims. It said the motive is not immediately clear.
Police said a dark vehicle was supported leaving the scene of the first shooting, and another shooting was reported at a second site.
Regional public broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk commanded, without citing sources, that an attack took place in a hookah lounge in the center of the city. It said shows reported hearing eight or nine shots and seeing at least one person lying on the ground.
The perpetrator or perpetrators then evidently went to another part of the city, where shots were fired in another hookah lounge, the broadcaster disclosed.
Hanau is in southwestern Germany, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Frankfurt. It has about 100,000 occupants.