1 killed, 2 injured after shots fired in Germany's Göppingen

A 29-year-old man was fatally shot in a bar in the south-western German city of Göppingen near Stuttgart, local police said early on Thursday as they continue their search for the suspect, reported dpa.

Two people were taken to hospital with injuries, the police said, adding that the perpetrator remains at large.

The police are still searching for the assailant who was clad in black and fled on foot. Officers do not yet know where the man fled. Likewise, the motive for the crime remains unclear, a spokesman said in the afternoon.

A large contingent of officers is at the scene of the crime, some heavily armed and masked, photos showed. The emergency services are also on site and forensic technicians are securing evidence, according to a dpa reporter there.

Mayor Alexander Maier told dpa that there was no immediate threat to the wider population.

Late on Wednesday evening, several people called the emergency services and reported hearing shots. Officers reached the bar where they found three victims with gunshot wounds. The 29-year-old was dead when they reached the scene.

But the city's wine festival, which opened on Wednesday, is set to continue as planned, the mayor said, noting the crime was not connected with the event.

Officers weigh whether crime linked to others

The police are investigating whether the shooting could be related to other violent incidents arising from clashes between local criminal gangs, a spokeswoman for the Baden-Württemberg State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) said in response to an enquiry. Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

A bloody feud is raging between the rival groups in the greater Stuttgart area, with people shot at and a hand grenade detonated.

The violence began in the summer of 2022, though the number of incidents has decreased significantly in recent months.

The police have detained more than 70 people suspected of involvement, the LKA has said in past statements.

The rival gangs are thought to be made up of more than 500 mostly young people. Of the two groups, one is associated with the Esslingen, Ludwigsburg and Plochingen area and the other with the Stuttgart districts of Zuffenhausen and Göppingen.

But this is not a case of classic gang warfare, and it remains unclear why the groups are fighting, according to LKA President Andreas Stenger.