German attacker at cinema took hostages before being shot dead, no one else hurt – police UPDATED 2:20 PM EDT

UPDATE 

Police reported that the attacker's rifle was "blank" but now comes this report from RT; no word yet from the police on whether the grenades and suicide belt are fakes:

Suicide Belt, Grenades Found Near German Movie Theater Attacker's Dead Body

20:44 23.06.2016(updated 21:03 23.06.2016) 

A suicide belt and grenades were found by German police next to the body of a gunman who attacked a movie threater in western Germany earlier in the day, Focus reported.

The attack took place shortly after 3 p.m. local time (13:00 GMT) when the man entered the Kinopolis cinema at the Rhein-Neckar-Zentrum shopping center and opened fire. Nobody was injured in the shooting. 

The police are examining the explosive belt and grenades as it is yet unclear whether they are geniune.

[...]

END UPDATE

German attacker took hostages before being shot, no one else hurt – police

Published time: 23 Jun, 2016 14:29  Edited time: 23 Jun, 2016 17:08

RT

An armed man was killed by police after taking hostages inside a cinema complex in Viernheim, western Germany, local officials confirmed, adding that no one was hurt in the incident. Previous reports said the man had fired a gun, injuring up to 50 people.

The interior minister of the German state of Hesse, Peter Beuth, confirmed that the man was shot and killed after police stormed the complex.

The man reportedly entered the Kinopolis cinema wearing a mask and a cartridge belt around his shoulder.

Beuth said the man was armed with a rifle.

"The police had an emergency call at 2:45pm (12:45 GMT). The caller said there was a masked man...armed with a long gun. It is unclear whether it was a real gun," Beuth told the Hesse parliament.  

"The caller heard four shots and said that the masked man appeared a little mentally unstable. Police special forces were called."

Police arrived at the scene shortly after the initial reports, including a number of officers from the SEC special task force. The area was cordoned off by authorities.

Initial reports stated that the man had fired shots at people inside the building, and that between 20 and 50 people had been injured. 

However, Focus later reported that the man was armed with a blank weapon, and that people were only hurt by tear gas.

[END REPORT]