The man suspected of two fatal shootings in the city of Hanau has been found dead at his home, police said.

Officers in Germany also found another body at the same address in the early hours of Thursday. Police gave no details of the suspected gunman but said ‘there are currently no indications of further perpetrators’.

Nine people were killed in the shootings in and outside two hookah lounges in a southwestern German city. Police said that at least five others were wounded in the two attacks in Hanau on Wednesday.

The first attack occurred at the ‘Midnight’ bar. Three people were killed in front of the building, local media said, with witnesses reporting hearing a dozen shots. The attacker, or attackers, fled the scene by car, according to police. There was then a second shooting at the ‘Arena Bar’.

A dark vehicle was spotted leaving the location of the first attack about 10pm, and another shooting was reported at a second site. Police officers swarmed the centre of the city, 12 miles east of Frankfurt, and cordoned off the area of one of the shootings as a helicopter hovered overhead.

‘The suspected perpetrator has been found dead,’ police in the central state of Hesse said, adding: ‘There is currently no indication that there are additional perpetrators.’

A gunman reportedly rang the doorbell and shot people who were in the smoking section, killing five people including a woman, Bild said.

‘The victims are people we have known for years,’ said the bar manager’s son, quoted by DPA news agency. Two employees were among the victims, according to the man, who was not at the bar during the shooting. ‘It is a shock for everyone’.

Police said one of those injured in the attack had also died.

Earlier reports said five people had been seriously wounded.

There were around 30 police cars leaving Hanau police station. Witnesses said heavily armed police officers were deployed in the city.

A silver Mercedes-Benz covered by what looked like a survival blanket could be seen behind a police cordon and surrounded by officers in front of the ‘Arena Bar’, with shattered glass on the floor.

‘The search for suspects is going at top speed. There is no clear information yet as to a motive,’ authorities said.

The mayor of Hanau, Claus Kaminsky, told Bild that it had been ‘a terrible night’.

‘You could not imagine a worse night. It will of course keep us busy for a long, long time and remain a sad memory.’

‘I am deeply moved. Just the fact that eight people have lost their lives has shaken me up. But I ask all citizens not to speculate.

‘The police must have the chance to clear up the situation and investigate – until then, we should wait with prudence, no matter how hard this may be.’

Katja Leikert, the MP for the region, said it was ‘a real horror scenario’.

‘On this dreadful night for Hanau, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the relatives of those killed. I hope the injured will recover quickly,’ she said.

Germany has been targeted in recent years by several extremist attacks, one of which killed 12 people in the heart of Berlin in December 2016.

Far-right attacks have become a particular concern for German authorities.

In October, a deadly anti-Semitic gun attack in the eastern city of Halle on the holy day of Yom Kippur underscored the rising threat of neo-Nazi violence. The rampage, in which two people were shot dead, was streamed live.

Last June, conservative politician Walter Luebcke, an advocate of a liberal refugee policy, was shot at his home.

On Friday police arrested 12 members of a German extreme right group believed to have been plotting ‘shocking’ large-scale attacks on mosques similar to the ones carried out in New Zealand last year.

German-Turkish Islamic organisation Ditib, which funds around 900 mosques in Germany, called for greater protections for Muslims in the country, saying they ‘no longer feel safe’ in Germany.

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