A MANHUNT is under way after three bodies were found in a residential building in a village in western Germany.
The suspect fled when officers arrived at the scene in Weitefeld, Westerwald, and is on the run, a police spokesperson told the German Press Agency.
Read also: Three Dead As Istanbul Recovers From Heaviest Rainfall In 80 Years
The victims were a family, police said, and include a 47-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy.
Police advised residents in the surrounding area to stay at home, and warned people not to pick up hitchhikers, local media reported.
German outlet Bild reported that a special task force was on site and a police helicopter is being used.
Read also: Trump Cancels Plan To Livestream Nidal Hasan’s Execution After Global Backlash
Weitefeld, which has a population of about 2,200, was cordoned off and vehicles entering and leaving are being checked.
The search will continue until the suspect is apprehended, including through the night, police said.
A police spokesperson told Bild that an emergency call came at 3:45am local time (2.45am BST).
Weitefeld’s mayor Karl-Heinz Kessler said he could never “have imagined such an act” in his small community.
Read also: Houthis Strike Aramco Hours After Saudi-Led Coalition Hits Sanaa Oil Site
“You know the people here in the village,” he told Der Spiegel.
He added that the victims and the suspect were long-standing residents.
