Dresden -- A 28-year-old defendant stabbed a 32-year-old female witness to death on Wednesday in a court room in Dresden in eastern Germany, police and prosecutors said.

The man was overpowered and is being interrogated, they added.

Following the attack, which happened at 10:30 am local time, the court was sealed off immediately and the circumstances surrounding the attack were unclear.

In April, a 60-year-old man shot dead his sister-in-law in a courtroom rampage in the southern city of Landshut.

The gunman shot and wounded a lawyer involved in the case and another sister-in-law before turning the Smith and Wesson revolver on himself, prompting a debate about security during trials.

AFP/Expatica