Heavily armed police sealed off two streets in the city of Hanau where ambulances had rushed. A police helicopter hovered over the city, east of the financial hub Frankfurt.
The motive for the shootings is still unclear. Local media said gunmen had opened fire at two shisha bars in Hanau.
The gunmen fled the scene of the first incident in a dark-coloured car. Police have set up a hotline for members of the public with information that could lead to the perpetrators. (Reporting by Kai Pfaffenbach and Reuters TV Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Kim Coghill)