14 Aug 2008

Three killed at ice cream parlour

1:26 pm on 14 August 2008

A huge manhunt is underway in Germany after three people were shot dead at an Italian ice cream parlour in a town near the city of Frankfurt.

The assailant or assailants fled the scene after the attack in Ruesselsheim, 28km south-west of Frankfurt.

German media said the two men killed were Turkish. The woman appears to have been caught in crossfire.

Police said the motive for the attack was unclear.

Officers are using dogs and a helicopter in an effort to find the killer or killers.

Almost exactly one year ago, six people were shot dead in the town of Duisburg, north-west of Frankfurt, in a shooting blamed on an Italian mafia clan.

Seven people were arrested in connection with the Duisburg deaths.

Police said it was unclear whether Tuesday's shooting had any link to organised crime.