国际英语新闻：4 killed in shooting in German town, shooter surrenders

BERLIN, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- A shooter, who killed 4 people and seriously injured a woman in a shooting, surrendered after the police stormed into a house in the western German town of Schwalmtal on Tuesday, said local police.

    The shooting was initially thought to be accompanied by a hostage-taking, police said, and the shooter surrendered after the police stormed into the garden house which he barricaded himself. Police earlier said there were six hostages in the garden house, but later said there was no hostages there, according to the report of German Press Agency (DPA).

    The identity of those killed and injured was still not clear and they might be immediate family members or outsiders, according to the report of DPA.

    Two possible reasons for the shooting were widely reported by the local media, one is related to a divorce case, the other is about forced removal.

    Schwalmtal is a small town about 20 kilometers east of Germany's border with the Netherlands. Several emergency doctors and other helpers, including a psychological counselor were at the scene, but none of them can reach those injured in the event.