A person has been stabbed to death, and four more injured, in a knife attack at a German supermarket.

Police arrested one man after the stabbing, which took place on Friday afternoon at a branch of the Edeka supermarket on the outskirts on Hamburg.

German tabloid Bild published a photograph of a bloodied figure in the back of a car whom they said was the suspect:

The Hamburg police department said members of the public subdued the man, who was then arrested. He is the only suspect.

Police do not yet have a motive for the killing. Bild also reported accounts from witnesses who said the man shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great" in Arabic) during the attack.

The attack took place in the Barmbek-Nord area of the outskirts of the city:

A map showing the location of the supermarket where the stabbing took place. Google Maps

Armed police stand guard outside the scene. Paul Weidenbaum/AP

A series of tweets from the Hamburg police department said that they had locked down the area. They warned the public to stay away.

Marco Zitzow, a reporter for Bild, tweeted a video from the scene showing armed police, ambulances and fire engines lined up in front of the supermarket: