Updated 4.29pm

A GUNMAN WHO barricaded himself into a cinema in Germany has been shot dead by police, local media report.

Faz reported earlier that several people had been taken hostage, but reports now suggest that the man has been shot dead after police stormed the cinema.

The man entered the cinema at 3pm in the western town of Viernheim, wearing a mask and carrying a cartridge belt, according to Bild.

Public broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk said that all hostages have been freed unharmed following the incident.

It was originally reported that 25 to 50 people were hurt, and some reports said they were injured by tear gas, although authorities insist that no one was injured.

The broadcaster adds that it an initial assessment of the gunman revealed no links to terrorism.

Officers “successively entered the cinema and were able to locate the man and the people he was holding,” police spokeswoman Christiane Kobus told The Associated Press.

There was a threat situation and the man was then shot dead by a colleague.

Police said that the deployment lasted about three hours. There were no other injuries, Kobus said.

Wikimedia Wikimedia

Interior Minister Peter Beuth confirmed to parliament that the man had been shot dead by police.

The police spokeswoman said they were investigating what type of weapon the assailant used, adding that it was possible it fired blanks.

Eyewitnesses heard shots during the incident, prior to when police arrived.

Additional reporting by AFP and The Associated Press.