Prosecutor killed in German court shooting

A defendant has shot dead a prosecutor at a court in the southern German city of Dachau, a spokesman for the state justice ministry said.

The man fired three shots at the prosecutor at the local district court on Wednesday and the victim later succumbed to his wounds in hospital, said the spokesman, Wilfried Krames, adding that the case was thought to revolve around a family dispute.

A police spokesman, Peter Griesser, said the gunman was detained at the scene and that he had no information about other victims.

"We must see if he shot at other people but according to what we know, no one else was injured," the spokesman said.

"Several witnesses to the shooting are suffering from shock."

A local newspaper, TZ, said the victim was a 31-year-old who had only begun working for the prosecutor's office one year ago. It said he was shot in the arm, shoulder and abdomen.