Four police officers have been injured, one critically, after they were shot at during a raid on a home in southern Germany.
Public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk reported when the officers entered the home in Georgensgmünd, a municipality in Bavaria, a 49-year-old man "immediately opened fire".
Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann told a press conference on Wednesday that one officer, a Special Deployment Commando, was critically injured in the shooting.
The officer was taken to hospital, where he was operated on, but he remained in a serious condition, Mr Herrmann said.
Another specialist commando was shot in the arm, while the remaining two officers were injured by flying fragments of glass.
The gunman, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was arrested at the scene.
Police found 30 legally-purchased weapons in his home, including hunting weapons, historical weapons and some from America.
German media reported the man was a "Reichsbürger" (roughly translating to "citizen of the Reich") - a right-wing extremist who rejects the power of the current German state.
Mr Herrmann described the shooting as a dramatic escalation, and an event which was unheard of in Bavaria.
He said people should not dismiss the Reich Citizens' Movement as being crazy or crackpots.
"They get bogged down in their ideology. We will do everything possible to protect people against these people," he said.
While some members of the movement could be regarded as right-wing extremists, others were less extreme, Mr Herrmann added.
A police spokesman told daily newspaper Neues Deutschland that the man owned his firearms legally, however he was no longer considered a "reliable" gun owner so local administrators revoked his right to bear arms.
Mr Herrmann said courts and district officials had attempted to contact the man to surrender his weapons but he refused to co-operate.
Officers attempted to seize them on Wednesday morning before they were shot.
Politicians began to speak out in the wake of the shooting, calling for greater action against those who identify as Reich Citizens.
Ulla Jelpke, domestic affairs spokeswoman for the Left Party, said authorities may have underestimated the threat posed by the group.
"The incidents in Georgensgmünd show clearly once again the danger of right-wing extremists and neo-fascists in Germany," Ms Jelpke said.
Markus Rinderspacher from Bavaria's Social Democratic Party said he was appalled and shocked by the "cowardly act of violence".
"What is needed is a crackdown and strict observation of the Reich Citizens' Movement," Mr Rinderspacher said.
"The anti-constitutional attitude of the movement is to be taken very seriously."
