Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has denounced a “brutal act of violence” after a shooting that reportedly left at least seven people dead and dozens injured at a Jehovah’s Witness centre in Hamburg on Thursday night. The police said the gunman was believed to be dead and that the motive remained unclear.

The Bild newspaper reported that seven people were dead and 25 others injured, of which eight were seriously wounded. It is unclear if the attacker was included in the death toll. Police said that several people were seriously injured but declined to say how many had died, Reuters reported.

The attack began at around 9pm on Thursday. A police spokesperson said soon after the attack: “We have no indications of a perpetrator on the run.” Later, police said that they had found a “lifeless person who we believe could be a perpetrator” at the centre but that investigations were ongoing.