German police have said a man suspected of killing his mother and later taking two people hostage in the eastern city of Dresden has died.

Officers had urged people to avoid an area in the city centre on Saturday morning and ordered the Christmas market to remain closed while the operation was under way.

Police initially said they were communicating with the suspect before announcing shortly after noon that the hostage situation was over.

“The suspect died during the operation,” Dresden police later wrote on Twitter. “The 40-year-old suffered fatal injuries while … the hostages were freed.

“Two outwardly uninjured people are in our care.”

Dresden police did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation about whether the man had been killed by police or died from self-inflicted injuries.

Radio Dresden reported that a gunman had earlier tried to enter a building where the broadcaster is based, near the city’s main train station.

The man reportedly fired several shots before fleeing, according to Radio Dresden.

Police separately confirmed that a 62-year-old woman had been found dead in another part of the city on Saturday. Her 40-year-old son was named as a suspect.

Police declined to confirm whether there was a connection between the killing and the hostage-taking.