TALLINN, Estonia (AP) - There has been a shooting inside the Estonian Defense Ministry in downtown Tallinn, officials said Thursday.
Spokesman Peeter Kuimet said Thursday that there had been an "incident involving guns" inside the ministry and that police are on the scene.
Martin Jasko, a spokesman for the government, said all employees have evacuated the building and police have cordoned off the surrounding area.
The Postimees, a leading daily paper in Estonia, is reporting on its website that the shooter may have taken a hostage inside the ministry.
A reporter for the Delfi news wesbite said from the scene that there had been shots approximately 20 minutes apart and that two people jumped through a window and ran away after the second shot.
Hannes Kont, the director of press at Defense Ministry, told The Associated Press that the minister, Mart Laar, was not in the building when the shooting started.

Police say a gunman who attacked the Estonian Defense Ministry in downtown Tallinn is dead.
An official at the country's Security Police told The Associated Press that the gunman, who stormed into the building on Thursday, fired shots and tried to take hostages, has died.
The official refused to say how that had happened, or to comment on reports in Estonian media that the gunman had committed suicide or been shot by police.