Four killed in Germany shooting and blast

Four people died and a policeman has been seriously wounded in a town in southwestern Germany on Sunday, after an explosion in an apartment building and a shooting in a neighbouring hospital that authorities believed were linked.

Officials said two people were found dead in an apartment building that burst into flames after an explosion in the town of Loerrach, near the Swiss and French borders.

Another woman, armed with a weapon, was seen running from the blast site into the neighbouring St. Elisabeth hospital, where she opened fire, killing a member of the hospital staff, eyewitnesses said.

The woman then turned her gun on officers responding to the shooting and was killed in an exchange of gunfire, according to officials.

One police officer was seriously wounded, but authorities believed there were no other victims in the hospital.

Authorities are still searching for a motive for the shooting.