The attacker, who reportedly screamed Allahu Akbar, ran into an Edeka shop in the northern city of Hamburg before knifing customers and going on the run. Witnesses followed him and raised the alarm at about 3.10pm before police swooped to  make an arrest. Heavily armed police have locked the area down and police helicopters have been seen above the crime scene. A motive for the knifing has not yet been established.

According to Bild, the man shouted 'Allahu Akbar' as he launched the attack in a branch of Edeka, Germany's largest supermarket chain. A witness told the newspaper: 'The man has suddenly struck out on customers, there was one dead and several injured.' A major manhunt got underway and 30 minutes later pictures emerged of a suspect covered in blood, with a white bag over his head in a police car. Armed police have been pictured on the scene having cordoned off the area. 

Hamburg police said on Twitter that there was only one attacker and that the motive for the incident in Hamburg's Barmbek district wasn't immediately clear. They added that 'initial reports about robbery as a possible motive so far have not been confirmed.' Germany is on high alert following a series of terror attacks in the country last year. 

Source: Daily Mail