4 women among 6 dead in mass shooting at center for mothers and children in Germany

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Six people were killed and multiple wounded in a mass shooting after a gunman opened fire at a mother-child center in northern Germany on Monday.

Five of the victims, including four women and a man, were shot dead inside the youth welfare facility in the city of Stade, just west of Hamburg.

A sixth man later died of his injuries in a nearby hospital.

The suspected killer was arrested after trying to flee the scene in a car, while two other possible suspects are also being investigated.

An eyewitness described how a woman and a young man were seen allegedly trying to drive off, as a police officer yelled at them to stop, reported German outlet Bild.

As they drove off, several officers opened fire, reportedly firing at least 10 to 15 shots on the car.

No details have yet been given on the motive behind the shooting at the facility, which houses children as well as expentant and new mothers.

Children at a nearby daycare were kept inside at the time of the shooting, although none of them were injured, according to police.

Large amounts of emergency personnel were deployed to the scene, but further details were not provided about the injured.

Police have warned that unconfirmed rumors about the shooting were being shared on social media.

“The accounts currently circulating do not correspond to the facts as confirmed by the police… This can cause uncertainty and hamper police operations,” said the police, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

No other suspects are said to be on the run, according to authorities.

“I thank the police officers for their service in this chaotic situation,” said City Councillor Carsten Brokelmann on Monday, adding that his “deepest condolences go to the victims of this horrific act and their families.”

Germany has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe, and this is the deadliest mass shooting in the country since March 1923, when a former Jehovah’s Witness entered a Kingdom Hall in Hamburg and shot dead seven people, including an unborn child, before turning the gun on himself.