Berlin – At least eight people were killed and five injured in two shooting attacks in a town in western Germany on Wednesday night, police authorities said as they launched a large-scale hunt for the perpetrators.
Police said they could not provide details on the motivation for the attack in Hanau, about 15 miles east of Frankfurt, but German news reports said the shootings targeted two hookah cafes.
Shots were fired at two different locations in the town around 10 p.m., police said, adding that authorities were searching for “unknown perpetrators.” A dark vehicle was seen driving away from the scene of the first shooting in the town center, authorities said. They appealed for witnesses to come forward.
That first shooting took place at a hookah bar called “Midnight,” according to German news reports. Three people were shot dead there, local broadcaster Hessenschau reported, adding that a total of eight or nine shots were fired.
Shortly thereafter, five people were shot dead in the Kesselstadt area just west of the town center, it said. Images from the scene showed police cordons and an ambulance outside the Arena Bar and Cafe. Behind the red police tape, at least one car was visible, covered in thermal foil with its windows shattered.