6 dead after shooting at a Jehovah’s Witness center in Hamburg, Germany

By Nadine Schmidt, Jessie Gretener and Tara John, CNN

(CNN) -- A deadly shooting erupted at a Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall in in Hamburg on Thursday evening, leaving several dead, according to police.

At least six people are dead and seven people injured, CNN affiliate RTL/NTV reported.

The incident in the northern German city occurred around 9 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET) and there are "one or more unknown" assailants, Hamburg police said in a statement.

Police are trying to clarify who remains in the building, but there is no indication that a suspect is on the run following the attack, a police spokesperson told CNN.

The streets around the place of worship have been cordoned off, and police have warned of "extreme danger" in the area, the spokesperson added.

Nearby residents have been urged to stay indoors.

There is "no confirmed information on the motive for the crime," police said on Twitter as they urged people not to share any unconfirmed assumptions.

Emergency services have also arrived at the scene of the incident, NTV reporter Bastian Vollmer reported.

Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher expressed his "deepest sympathy" for the relatives of the victims, calling the reports of the incident "shocking" on Twitter.

"My deepest sympathy goes to the relatives of the victims. Emergency services are working at full speed to pursue the perpetrator(s)," he wrote.

Shootings in Germany are not unheard of, though rarer than in the United States. In January 2022, at least one person was killed after man opened fire on students in a lecture hall at Heidelberg University in southwestern Germany.

In 2020, a mass shooting at two shisha bars in Hanau killed several people.

This is a developing story. More to follow.