Two police officers were fatally injured by gunfire during a traffic check in western Germany in the early hours of Monday, according to local police.
The officers from the police department in the small town of Kusel had been on a routine patrol, police in the nearby city of Kaiserslautern said.
The shots were fired during a traffic check on district road number 22 in the village of Ulmet at approximately 4:20 am (0320 GMT).
The police officers were able to send a radio message themselves, a police spokesperson said.
When reinforcements arrived at the scene, it was too late for the 24-year-old policewoman and her 29-year-old male colleague.
Police said that the search for the perpetrators was underway. Evidence has been secured at the scene of the crime.
A description of the perpetrators or the used escape vehicle was not available, and it is unclear in which direction they escaped.
District road 22 is fully closed near Mayweilerhof and Ulmet, police were asking residents not to pick up hitch-hikers in the district of Kusel, at least one suspect is armed.
