Two police officers have been fatally gunned down while on a routine patrol in Germany.
The officers were killed during a traffic check near Kusel early this morning, police in Kaiserslautern said in a statement.
A 29-year-old male officer and 24-year-old female officer died in the Rhineland-Palatine district in south west Germany.
Following the deadly shootings at around 4.20am back-up forces were scrambled to the scene.
Several suspects are thought to still be on the run.
The police have no description of the perpetrators or the getaway vehicle used, and the direction of escape is also unknown.
A spokesperson for the West Palatinate police headquarters said: "The deceased are a 24-year-old colleague and a 29-year-old colleague.
"It was a normal patrol, a road check.
"The colleagues were able to radio that shots had been fired.
"We are currently talking about several perpetrators.
Talking to German outlet SPIEGEL, the spokesperson added: "Their colleagues are affected, they know each other.
"West Palatinate is not particularly big."
The Kaiserslautern police urged people not to pick up any hitchhikers in the district.
At least one suspect is believed to be armed.
Police have shut down a large section of the town, which has a population of around 5,000, as searches continue.
They have extended their search to the neighbouring Saarland district.
Germany has strict gun control laws which limits what kind of firearms are legal and who can carry them.
According to SWR, the prime minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer said: "Our thoughts are with the relatives and colleagues of the Rhineland-Palatinate police.
"The act is appalling. We are very upset that two young people have lost their lives on duty."
State chairwoman Sabrina Kunz added: "We are living through the real nightmare of all police officers."
Mourning flags are being flown from official state buildings and black ribbons are being placed on all police patrol cars.
It had a firearm related death rate of 0.99/100,000 people last year - 12 times less than that in the US, but four times greater than the UK.
More to follow.
