A suspected gunman who shot dead at least 10 people in a German town was a far-right eugenicist who called in a manifesto for the extermination of various Muslim-majority countries.

The 43-year-old suspect, named in local media only as Tobias R, killed himself and his mother at his home following the overnight attack at two shisha bars in Hanau, a town close to Frankfurt in the western state of Hesse. Federal prosecutors are treating the case as terrorism.

Some of the nine victims at the bars were migrants from Turkey, according to officials. Federal prosecutors said they had taken charge of the case because of indications that the attack had a far-right motive.

Turkey’s ambassador to Germany said five of those killed were Turkish citizens.

The attacker had posted a 24-page manifesto online with conspiracy theories and deeply racist views, the public prosecutor general, Peter Frank, said.

“On the suspected perpetrator’s home page, he had put up video messages and a kind of manifesto that, in addition to obscure thoughts and absurd conspiracy theories, pointed to deeply racist views,” Mr Frank told reporters.

The suspect wrote in the manifesto that he hated foreigners and non-whites, and called for the destruction of a number of countries in north Africa, the Middle East and central Asia.

Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Show all 15 1 /15 Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Forensics investigate at the scene after a shooting in central Hanau. A German man shot and killed eleven people at different locations in a Frankfurt suburb overnight AP Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Special police forces work at the scene following the deadly shooting AP Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars A car were people were shot dead AP Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Broken glass one the floor by the car AP Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Police secure the area after the shooting Reuters Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Police and ambulances at the crime scene EPA Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars epa08229669 Police work at a crime scene after two shootings in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany, 20 February 2020. According to media reports, at least eight people were killed in two shootings at shisha bars in the western German city on the outskirts of Frankfurt on 19 February 2020. EPA/ARMANDO BABANI ARMANDO BABANI EPA Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Police officers secure an area after a shooting in Hanau near Frankfurt, Germany, February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach KAI PFAFFENBACH Reuters Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Forensic experts search the area Reuters Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars A bullet lies on the sidewalk near a restaurant AP Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars epa08229721 A forensic expert investigates a crime scene after two shootings in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany, 20 February 2020. According to media reports, at least nine people were killed in two shootings at shisha bars in the western German city on the outskirts of Frankfurt on 19 February 2020. The alleged perpetrator was found dead in his flat together with another dead person in Hanau, police stated on twitter. EPA/HEIKO HAHNENSTEIN HEIKO HAHNENSTEIN EPA Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Forensic police work near a crime scene in front of a bar at the Heumarkt in the centre of Hanau, near Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on February 20, 2020, after at least nine people were killed in two shootings late on February 19. - At least nine people were killed in shootings targeting shisha bars in Germany that sparked a huge manhunt overnight before the suspected gunman was found dead in his home early on February 20. The attacks occurred at two bars in Hanau, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Frankfurt, where armed police quickly fanned out and police helicopters roamed the sky looking for those responsible for the bloodshed. Police in the central state of Hesse said the likely perpetrator had been found at his home in Hanau after they located a getaway vehicle seen by witnesses. Another body was also discovered at the property. German counter-terror prosecutors said on February 20 they had taken over the investigation into two linked shootings. (Photo by Thomas Lohnes / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS LOHNES/AFP via Getty Images) THOMAS LOHNES AFP via Getty Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Police officers secure one of the bar targets AFP via Getty Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars A forensic officer walks into the hookah bar where several people were killed late Wednesday in Hanau, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. Several people were killed at locations when shots were fired in Hanau late Wednesday, with the suspect and another person found dead at his home afterwards.(AP Photo/Martin Meissner) Martin Meissner AP Germany mass shooting: 9 dead at Hanau shisha bars Flowers and candles are placed near the Midnight Shisha bar Reuters

Peter Neumann, founder of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) at King’s College London, who analysed the German-language document, said that the suspect did not emphasise Islam as a target.

The justification for killing entire populations was made in “explicitly eugenicist terms”, Prof Neumann tweeted, with the suspect claiming falsely that science showed certain races were superior.

The document contains numerous allusions to antisemitic conspiracy theories, with a section dedicated to the supposed malign influence of Hollywood as well as a “shadow government” controlling the US.

He also identified as an “incel”, and wrote that he had not been in a relationship with a woman, out of choice, for the past 18 years.

In a separate video that hints at the suspect’s state of mind, he talks about mind control, devil worship and secret societies purportedly controlling America.

“The attack carries both similarities and significant differences from the string of far-right terror attacks that have struck western countries over the last year-and-a-half years,” the anti-racism group Hope not Hate said in a statement.

“The shooter released a manifesto online, and expressed clear ideas about race and immigration in line with those previous attackers.”

Overnight, police chased a car, which had been used to leave the scene of one of the shootings, to its owner’s address, where they found the bodies of the man and his mother, Hesse’s interior minister, Peter Beuth, said.

It is believed that the gunman returned home after his rampage and shot himself. Officers said there were no indications that other suspects were involved in the attack.

Germany’s political landscape has been polarised in recent years, with a wave of immigration and a slowing economy helping to fuel support for extremist groups at both ends of the political spectrum.

In October, an antisemitic gunman opened fire outside a German synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, and killed two people as he livestreamed his attack.