Gunshots fired near Papal Mass

Yikes:

A man with an airgun fired up to three times at a guard on the edge of the security zone, set up around the area of the open air mass, in Erfurt, eastern Germany.

Around 30,000 had been gathering from before dawn for the mass in the cobbled square beneath the soaring spires of Erfurt's medieval cathedral, when reports began to filter through of a shooting incident near a security checkpoint in the city centre.

Erfurt police spokesman Dirk Sauter said the shooting was "several kilometres" from the Cathedral Square and was not initially thought to be linked to the papal visit.

The gunman was said to have opened fire from within his own flat before being seized by police officers. The private security guard was only slightly injured.

Vatican spokesman, the Reverend Federico Lombardi said there was "no worry" in the papal entourage over the incident.

Police say the shooting took place more than an hour before the Mass, on the periphery of the security zone that had been set up.
Following the mass the Pope was due to fly on to Freiburg for another open air service tomorrow.

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