The 47-year-old man accused of fatally shooting two people from his car in the southern German state of Bavaria is believed to be severely mentally ill, local prosecutors said Saturday. The suspect has completed an initial medical evaluation that will be followed by more extensive psychological testing.

A psychiatric expert told police that Bernd G. has "acute psychosis with bizarre delusions."

"According to what we know at the moment, there are strong grounds to believe that the legal culpability of the accused at the time of the crime was at least substantially diminished," the office of the public prosecutor in the town of Ansbach said.

Bernd G., a resident of Ansbach, is suspected of shooting dead an 82-year-old woman and a 72-year-old man in the nearby town of Leutershausen on Friday. Investigators also think he may have threatened to shot two other people who got away uninjured.

Three gas station workers subdued the suspect shortly after the shootings when he entered their shop brandishing his weapon. They told investigators they were able to overpower him when he briefly laid the gun down on the counter.

The suspect later told a judge that he had worked as a nurse, but that he had lost his job a few months ago.

A judge ordered the continued detention of Bernd G., who is being held at the hospital in Ansbach. Prosecutors said it may take months to have a final medical diagnosis.

Editor's note: Deutsche Welle follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and obliges us to refrain from revealing full names in such cases.

es/sms (AFP, dpa)