A person was held hostage in the southern German city of Ulm but was later rescued unharmed.
Police said that at about 6:45 local time an armed man took a person hostage in a Starbucks coffee shop in the city centre.
A short time later, the suspect left the building with the hostage and attempted to flee, but police opened fire and apprehended the attacker and the hostage was not harmed.
“At 8:20 p.m. the male and armed perpetrator left the building with a hostage and fled,” Ulm police said in a statement.
The area around the square and the city’s main landmark, the Ulm Minster Church, were subsequently sealed off.
The motives of the attacker have not yet been clarified.
