A gunman has killed one person and seriously injured three others inside a lecture hall at Heidelberg University in the south-west of Germany, before shooting himself dead, BBC has reported. 

He was an 18-year-old German student.

German police reported that the 18-year-old shooter was armed with two guns, had used a "long gun", and fired shots around the amphitheatre "wildly". 

The incident triggered a large operation at the university's campus in the Neuenheimer Feld area.

Police asked people to avoid the area so rescue workers and emergency services could move around freely.

The gunman appeared to have no religious or political motive, according to German media outlets. 

According to BBC, the country has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe hence school shooting incidents are rare.

“Anyone under 25 is required to pass a psychological evaluation before getting a gun licence,” BBC reports.