AUTHORITIES say that two people have been killed and two police officers seriously injured in a shooting in southwestern Germany.

Police and prosecutors said in a joint statement that police had been deployed at about 8.30am Friday (5.30pm AEST) to deal with a “dangerous situation” in Kirchheim an der Weinstrasse, a small town near Mannheim.

They said that a shooting ensued in which two people died and a male and a female police officer were seriously injured.

Authorities said there was no longer any danger, but didn’t elaborate on the identity of the people who were killed or what exactly triggered the police deployment.

More to come