Six people have been killed and two more injured in a shooting at a hospital in the Czech Republic, police and the country’s health minister have said.

The attack took place in the city of Ostrava at about 7.19am local time.

Police said on Twitter that after a manhunt they had tracked down a silver Renault car containing the suspected shooter.

The gunman, aged 42, took his own life before officers arrived, they added.

Investigators published a photo of the suspect, having withdrawn an earlier photo of a different man wearing similar clothes. They said that man was now considered to be a witness.

Czech hospital shooting Show all 10 1 /10 Czech hospital shooting Czech hospital shooting Armed police officers move near the crime scene in front of a hospital in Ostrava. According to police, at least six people have been killed in a shooting at the hospital EPA Czech hospital shooting Hospital staff hide behind police vehicles EPA Czech hospital shooting People are evacuated from the hospital EPA Czech hospital shooting Armed officers Police said on Twitter that after a manhunt they had tracked down a silver Renault car they believed was driven by the suspected shooter EPA Czech hospital shooting A man in the car, who they were working to identify, took his own life before officers arrived, they added EPA Czech hospital shooting Armed police officers move at the crime scene EPA Czech hospital shooting A police car enters an area of the Ostrava Teaching Hospital AP Czech hospital shooting Police personnel and paramedics outside the Ostrava Teaching Hospital AP Czech hospital shooting epa08058948 Police officers move at the crime scene in front of a hospital in Ostrava, Czech Republic, 10 December 2019. According to police, four people have been killed in a shooting at a hospital in Ostrava. Two others suffered severe injuries in the incident. The police is looking for a suspected gunman who is at large, media reported. EPA/LUKAS KABON LUKAS KABON EPA Czech hospital shooting People are evacuated EPA

Officers had arrived at the hospital five minutes after the first reports of gunfire, police said.

Andrej Babis, the prime minister, told Czech public television the shooting had taken place in a waiting room.

The unexplained attack is the worst shooting in the country since eight people were killed at a restaurant in Uhersky Brod in 2015.

Police bolstered security at “selected soft targets” around the country in response to the shooting.