Two people were found dead after a shooting in a supermarket north of Frankfurt, authorities said Tuesday.
According to local police, gunfire was reported at the premises in Schwalmstadt at around 1 p.m. local time (1100 UTC).
“Based on consistent witness statements, a man first shot a woman in the grocery store and then apparently took his own life,” a police statement said. “There are currently no indications of the involvement of third persons.”
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The motive behind the killing was not immediately clear.
Besides the two deceased individuals — a 58-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman — no others were believed to have been injured and there was no danger to the public, the statement added.
“The scene of the crime has been cordoned off over a wide area,” police said.
Officials have launched a criminal investigation into the incident. Emergency services at the scene have also set up a support center for witnesses and those affected.
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The speaker of the state parliament in Hesse, Astrid Wallmann, thanked the police for their work and offered her condolences to the relatives of the dead.
Schwalmstadt is a rural mid-sized town of just under 20,000 people roughly 90 minutes’ drive north of Frankfurt.
