German nightclub shooting leaves two dead

A disagreement at a German nightclub turned deadly after the nightclub operator’s son-in-law left the venue and returned with an assault rifle and started shooting, officials said.

A security guard was killed and four other people were wounded, three of them seriously, during the rampage in the southwestern town of Konstanz.

The suspect was subsequently fatally shot by a police officer.

Officials investigating the shooting identified the suspect as a 34-year-old who came to Germany from Iraq in 1991.

They said they had no details on the dispute, but ruled out a terrorist motive.

Police said the man was the son-in-law of the club’s operator and had a criminal record that included assault and drug-related convictions. The suspect was not named, in keeping with German privacy laws.

The dpa news agency cited police weapons expert Andreas Stenger as saying the weapon used was an M16 assault rifle of the kind used by US armed forces.

Other law enforcement officials said the gunman opened fire just inside the club’s entrance, killing a security employee.

A policeman subsequently exchanged gunfire with the suspect outside. The officer received non-life-threatening wounds, while the gunman died later in a hospital.