BERLIN: Several people were killed and others injured on Friday in an attack in the southern German city of Wuerzburg, police said, with media reporting a knife assault. "The attacker was overpowered after the police used firearms. There are several injured as well as fatalities," police said on Twitter, without giving details on the suspect's motives.

There was no further danger to the public, added police. German news outlets reported that the suspect had attacked people in the city-centre with a knife at around 5.00 pm (1500 GMT).

Police were able to arrest the man after shooting him in the leg, the Bild newspaper reported, adding that at least three people were killed and six others injured. The mass-circulation daily published a photo of the suspect, showing a dark-skinned man wearing a beige long-sleeved t-shirt with grey trousers and holding a long knife. Video footage circulating online also showed passers-by trying to stop the suspect using folded chairs. A crowd of people gave chase, before a police car arrived on the scene, one video showed.

A huge police deployment was ongoing in the city of some 130,000 inhabitants located about 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Frankfurt. While the motive and full identity of the perpetrator have not yet been established, Germany has been on high alert after several deadly Islamist extremist attacks.