Armed man kills four in Karlsruhe, including his girlfriend and a court bailiff, before turning gun on himself

A heavily armed man whose girlfriend was being evicted from her flat has killed four people, including the new owner and a court bailiff who were shot execution-style, before turning the weapon on himself, German authorities said.

A commando team stormed the building in Karlsruhe, southern Germany, but the 53-year-old gunman and the victims were already dead.

Also killed were his girlfriend, 55, who was found on her bed with a gunshot wound to her chest, near the gunman's body. The bailiff and new owner were found with their hands bound on a couch, dead from gunshot wounds to the head. A locksmith was found dead on the floor.

"It was a terrible crime," said Hildegard Gerecke, the Karlsruhe police chief. "Nothing could be done to stop it and nothing could be done to save them."

She said the suspect, whose name wasn't released in accordance with German privacy laws, had no history of violence that would have made the bailiff and the others expect any danger.

The flat is in a building that was once part of the US Army's Paul Revere Village and used to house troops.

The woman had fallen behind on payments and the flat was sold at foreclosure auction. At about 8am the bailiff, a locksmith, and a social worker showed up to evict her. When nobody opened the door they began trying to force the lock, then the suspect opened the door and ushered them in, said deputy police chief Roland Lay, who ran the operation.

The flat's new owner, a 49-year-old man, showed up minutes later. Once all were inside the suspect told them to sit but when the bailiff refused, the suspect went into another room, grabbed a pistol, and shot him twice in the thigh, Lay said.

A struggle for the pistol ensued with the 33-year-old locksmith, and the suspect shot him four or five times, including in the head. About 45 minutes later, after binding the hands of the others and putting them on the couch, the suspect let the social worker go and he informed police of the shootings.

Officers tried to make contact with the suspect on the mobile phones of his captives and the flat's phone, but nobody answered, Lay said.

About 10 minutes before noon, when they smelled smoke from the flat, they used explosives to blow through the door and stormed in, finding the carpet on fire and the grisly scene, he said.

In addition to the shotgun, police found a rifle with a long magazine, two pistols, a dummy grenade and a lot of ammunition, Lay said.

Authorities said the suspect shared his time between Karlsruhe and the nearby Alsace region of neighbouring France. It was not yet clear where the man got the weapons, which were not registered.