German gunman 'kills hostages' in Karlsruhe eviction

According to BBC, the hostage-taker is probably also dead, according to police.

A man was facing eviction on Wednesday morning after not having paid his rent for several months.

He is said to have fired shots before barricading himself in the flat with several hostages, believed to include a bailiff, a locksmith and the owner of the property.

An area around the block was sealed off and hundreds of police officers were deployed. A school and a kindergarten nearby were evacuated.

"Special forces broke into the apartment after smelling smoke and found four dead bodies. Probably one of them is the gunman," a police spokesman told Reuters news agency.

The hostage-taking began after officials arrived to evict a man from a flat in a block in the north part of Karlsruhe.

At about 09:00 local time (08:00 GMT), several shots rang out.

Police believed the gunman was a hunter who possessed several weapons.