Leader of Merkel's party says xenophobia is poisoning our society

The leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) said on Thursday that xenophobia was a growing problem in Germany after a suspected right-wing extremist shot nine people dead in two shisha bars.

"It's poison to see people as opponents, to see yourself as better than others, to see fellow citizens as foreigners - that's a poison that is increasingly penetrating society and can ultimately lead to these crimes," Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said.