At least four injured in Berlin shooting; no political motive

Several people have sustained injuries during a shooting in the German capital of Berlin, with police reports ruling out any political motive behind the incident.

Police said the shooting took place during an altercation in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin in the early hours of Saturday and left at least four people injured.

A police spokeswoman said four of the people involved were taken to hospital "among others with gunshot wounds," and that there was no indication of a political motive as the shooting occurred close to the offices of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Police said the unidentified assailants had fled the scene, adding that armed officers were deployed to search for the perpetrators of the act and helicopters were flown to patrol the area.

The Berlin fire service announced earlier on Twitter that three people had been seriously injured in the shooting.

Last month, a car crashed into the gate of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office in Berlin, with no immediate reports of casualties.

Merkel was scheduled to host a video conference of German state premiers on Wednesday morning in order to discuss an extension to the coronavirus lockdown and further steps to fight the pandemic.

Germany has been targeted in recent years by several extremist attacks.

Far-right attacks have become a particular concern for German authorities and the increase in hate crimes in recent months has prompted the country to expand a crackdown on right-wing political violence in order to repress the disturbance.

MG