Several people have been killed in a shooting in the northern German city of Hamburg.

Hamburg Police say shots were fired in a church in the Gross Borstel district, with several people seriously injured and some killed.

German newspaper Bild reports seven people were killed and at least eight others injured.

The shooting occurred in a building used by Jehovah’s Witnesses, local media report.

Police said there is no information on the motive so far, as a number of armed officers were pictured near the scene.

The force added that a large operation was under way in the next-door Alsterdorf district, in the northern part of the city.

The area is a few kilometres north of the downtown area of Hamburg, which is Germany’s second-biggest city.