German police investigate possible hostage situation at Karlsruhe pharmacy

German police said on Friday that they are mobilized due to a suspected hostage situation in the western German city of Karlsruhe.

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The incident follows Thursday's deadly rampage at a Jehovah's Witnesses hall in Hamburg.

Police in Karlsruhe had cordoned off the area in the central part of the city because the danger level was unclear, the police said on Twitter.

Reached by phone, a spokesperson did not say how many hostages there were or how long the operation had been going on.

Germany's Bild newspaper reported that the situation began around 4:30 pm local time, and that police were in contact with the alleged hostage-taker.

Karlsruhe, not far from the French border, is a city of some 300,000 people and home to the Federal Court of Justice, Germany's highest court.

Police urged residents to avoid the area, and said that those who couldn't get home could seek refuge in a nearby school.

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