DW
Police evacuated a shopping mall in the center of the eastern German city of Dresden on Saturday morning amid reports of an armed man taking hostages.
A large police presence has been deployed at the Altmarktgalerie mall which has been cordoned off from the public.
“The Dresden Police Department is currently carrying out an operation in downtown Dresden. The background is the suspicion of a hostage situation,” the department said in a statement.
Police also said that the nearby Striezelmarkt Christmas market had been closed and asked locals to stay away from the area with a spokesperson telling the German news agency DPA that the situation was still very unclear.
According to the local radio broadcaster Radio Dresden, the armed man was still at large.
Several local media outlets said that an armed man had first tried to break into the Radio Dresden building before heading to the Altmarktgalerie mall.
Germany’s Bild newspaper reported that shots were fired and at least one person had been killed by the attacker, but police refused to confirm any deaths.
More to come…
