A German school has been evacuated after a gunman was seen in the grounds sparking a police manhunt.

The alarm was raised at Friedrich Ebert School in Esslingen, near Stuttgart this morning with students initially told to barricade themselves in their classrooms.

Police locked down the area after they were told someone had entered the school premises with a weapon. Witnesses told police they had seen a firearm tucked in a teenager's waistband.

A German school has been evacuated after a gunman was seen in the grounds sparking a police manhunt. Armed police were called to the scene this morning (pictured_

The alarm was raised at Friedrich Ebert School in Esslingen, near Stuttgart this morning with students initially told to barricade themselves in their classrooms

A man was arrested in the town but was released after police realised they were holding the wrong person.

Officers later tweeted that the suspect had probably fled on a motor bike.

Heavily armed police and a helicopter were seen in the area this morning as the manhunt got underway.

Heavily armed police and a helicopter were seen in the area this morning as the manhunt got underway

Police spokesman Bjoern Reusch said the suspect didn't use his weapon and nobody was hurt when he briefly showed up inside the school building

The armed man is described as being between 17 and 19, with a dark complexion and a beard. He was wearing a red T-shirt, blue jeans and reading glasses.

Police spokesman Bjoern Reusch said the suspect didn't use his weapon and nobody was hurt when he briefly showed up inside the school building.

They searched the secondary school but found nothing suspicious and asked students to assemble outside the building until they could be picked up by their parents, a police spokesman told DPA news agency.