Prague, Feb 25 (IANS/EFE): At least eight people were killed Tuesday in a shooting incident that took place in a restaurant in the eastern Czech Republic town of Uhersky Brod, close by the Slovakian border.

Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec told the CTK news agency that the suspected gunman has been "neutralised" while other media reported that he committed suicide.

An eyewitness who was using the toilet at the time of the incident said that around twenty people were having lunch in the Sruzba restaurant in the town center when the shooting began.

Local media claimed the suspect began "firing indiscriminately" and that as many as 25 shots were counted.

Patrik Kuncar, mayor of the town of 17,000 inhabitants, said that the gunman, described as a man in his 60s who was carrying two firearms, gave indications of being mentally disturbed.

He was canny enough, however, to arrive just when the restaurant was packed for lunch.

Kuncar added that an atmosphere of fear hangs over the town and people were terrified.

Police have cordoned off the area and deployed special units to the scene, while ambulances transfer an unknown number of wounded to nearby hospitals.