Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg.

The Hamburg city government said the shooting took place at a Jehovah’s Witness church in the Gross Borstel district on Thursday evening.

Police said the motive for the attack, which happened at around 9pm local time, is currently unclear.

Newspaper the Bild reported that seven people had been killed and eight more injured after the shooting, but the official death toll is yet to be confirmed by police.

Hamburg Police said on Twitter: “Several people were seriously injured, some even fatally. We are on site with a large contingent of forces.”

The police statement said there was no immediate indication that a shooter was on the run and that it appeared likely that the perpetrator or perpetrators were either in the building or among the dead.

Police said they were alerted to the shooting about 9.15pm local time and were on the scene quickly. They said that after officers arrived, they heard a shot from an upper floor.

Emergency services are at the church and have been seen taking people out of the building.

NINAwarn, a federal warning app, sent an alert out at around 9pm (8pm GMT) saying: “One or more unknown perpetrators shot at people in a church”.

Residents nearby have been told not to leave their homes.