German police have arrested a man suspected of firing three shots from an air gun  this morning  around a kilometre from where Pope Benedict XVI was due to hold Mass.

No-one was injured in the incident and a suspect was arrested in his apartment, from where the shots were fired, Eckhard Deutschmann, a local police spokesman told AFP.

The shots were fired around two hours before the 84-year-old pontiff began his celebration  before around 30,000 people, according to reporters on the scene.

The Vatican said it appeared the incident was not linked to the papal visit.

Security for the Pope's first visit to his native Germany has been extremely tight. Large parts of Berlin, Erfurt and Freiburg have been locked down for the trip amid a colossal police presence.

German radio reported the shots were aimed at a security official.

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