Suspect arrested after two German officials killed in firearms check

Police have arrested a 60-year-old man suspected of shooting dead two local government employees during a routine firearms inspection in the southern German state of Bavaria, police said early on Friday.

The suspect was slightly wounded by gunfire during his arrest, a police spokeswoman said. Police have not yet established a motive for the killings.

According to initial findings, the man allegedly shot dead a 54-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, both employees of the Neumarkt district administration, during the inspection in the town of Berngau on Thursday afternoon. He then barricaded himself inside a residential building for hours.

The officials were checking, among other things, whether the man was storing his firearms in accordance with regulations. The inspection was not intended to seize the man's weapons. 

Police surrounded the building and called in specialist units. The operation continued for hours, while residents were urged to remain indoors or stay away from the cordon. 

During the stand-off, officers maintained telephone contact with the suspected shooter and spent a long time trying to persuade him to surrender. However, the man insisted he would not give himself up without resistance.

"Ultimately, officers moved in, also using explosives," a police spokesman said. "The 60-year-old suspect was slightly wounded by gunfire to the leg." The man was to receive medical treatment first.

On Thursday evening, police initially reported that one employee of the Neumarkt district administration had been fatally wounded. A police spokesman later confirmed that a female colleague, who had initially been reported as seriously injured, had also died.

"We assume she died immediately when the shots were fired," the spokesman said, citing the circumstances in which her body was found. 

Several emergency calls reporting gunfire were received by police and rescue services at around 2 pm. The other deceased government employee was recovered from outside the building, police said.