One man dead in shooting outside Berlin hospital

BERLIN - Agence France-Presse

AFP Photo

One man was killed and two others left fighting for their lives after a gunman opened fire on Thursday on a group of youths outside a hospital in Berlin, police said.

"A young man of 22, of immigrant origin, was killed and two young men were seriously wounded. Their lives are in danger," a police spokeswoman told AFP.

The spokeswoman could not confirm the nationality of the victim but the attack took place in the Neukoelln district of the German capital, which has a large community of Turkish immigrants and their descendants.

Media reports said all five men in the group were of Turkish origin.

Police said they were now hunting the gunman who fled on foot.

"The attack took place around 1:15 am (2315 GMT). We do not know what witnesses saw but we are interviewing them," the spokeswoman added.

Deadly street shootings are rare in Germany, which has strict gun laws.