Six found dead in German Chinese restaurant 05/02/2007 00:00

Sittensen, Germany (dpa) - Six persons were found shot dead in the small hours of Monday in a Chinese restaurant in the German town of Sittensen and another person was critically wounded, German police said.

Some of the three men and three women had been tied up before they were shot.

Police were alerted after a man, 47, went to pick up his wife at 12.30 a.m. after her work at the Lin Yue restaurant in the town, 45 kilometres south-west of the city of Hamburg. His wife was among the dead who were found in various rooms of the first-story restaurant.

One of the restaurant staff survived and was taken to hospital.

Local police, who set up a murder inquiry, said they still had no idea why the seven were attacked, and refused comment on speculation about a possible organized-crime massacre or a family dispute.

The dead, all of Asian appearance, were still in the process of being identified.

Federal police forensic specialists were expected at the scene Monday afternoon, said a spokesman, adding, "We are still trying to get a picture of what happened."

Police began a search for anyone who had dined at the restaurant Sunday evening.

DPA

Subject: German news