Police operation near Nuremberg as rescue services called to blazes

There was a major police operation under way in Altdorf near the Bavarian city of Nuremberg on Sunday, where two fires broke out and an unidentified assailant threatened rescue workers with a firearm, police said.

Officials said they closed the nearby A3 motorway in both directions as a person with a firearm was at large.

A special task force was also called out, a spokeswoman for the regional police headquarters said.

Initially, a fire was reported in Altdorf, to the south-east of Nuremberg. Police said that a residential building was on fire and there was also a fire in a nearby forest.

A person wielding a firearm reportedly threatened officers as they arrived at the scene. No further details were initially known.

On the social media platform X, officers called on residents to avoid the area.