The shooting occurred in Sindelfingen, a city near Stuttgart. The suspect, a 53-year-old man, was taken into custody, a spokesman for the Stuttgart prosecutor's office said.

Police received the first emergency calls around 7:45 a.m. (0545 GMT; 1:45 a.m. EDT) on Thursday morning, a police spokeswoman told the news agency dpa.

Police tweeted that there was no further danger to employees at the plant. Information about the suspect’s motive was not immediately available.

In a statement, Mercedes-Benz said that two people were killed at its Sindelfingen plant and said it was “deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic news."

“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all colleagues on site,” the company's statement said.

The sprawling Sindelfingen works employ around 35,000 workers producing E-Class and S-Class luxury sedans and CLS and GLC coupes, according to the company’s website. It also houses planning, purchasing and development and design departments.