Two dead as gunman storms Aldi supermarket in Germany and opens fire on ‘screaming’ shoppers

Shoppers at the Aldi store in Germany did not realise at first the murder had taken place and thought the gunshot was someone breaking glass at the shopfront, before spotting a murdered 53-year-old woman

Two people have been found dead after a gunman opened fire at an Aldi store in central Germany on Tuesday.

The murderer stormed the supermarket at around 1 pm local time in Schwalmstadt-Treysa, a town of around 8,500 people northeast of Germany’s financial capital Frankfurt.

Germany has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe and one of the lowest gun-related death rates.

You must be at least 18-years-old to apply for a license and also undergo a reliability check, which is where criminal records are checked, there are checks to see if the person is an alcohol or drug addict and whether they have a mental illness.

German police forces ( Image: Getty Images)

Anyone under 25 in Germany also has to pass a psychiatric exam before applying for a gun licence.

However, on May 19, a suspect armed with a crossbow went on a shooting rampage at the Lloyd High School in the northern city of Bremerhaven, leaving one injured.

German police are currently on-site and say there is no further danger to the population.

A police spokesperson said: “The background to the crime is currently unknown. The police are on site with strong forces. There is no danger to the population.”

According to reports, eyewitnesses said a man followed a woman inside the store. She then screamed for help before the gunman shot her and turned the gun on himself, taking his own life.

According to reports, eyewitnesses said a man followed a woman inside the store ( Image: Karsten Socher / BILD)

According to current police knowledge, no other people were injured apart from the two victims who have been identified as a 53-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man, HNA Newspaper reports.

A witness says many customers did not realise what happened at first, as it sounded like a glass had broken.

There are around seven police cars and two ambulances parked in front of the building, while employees and witnesses are being looked after in a nearby cafe.