A 14-year-old girl has died and another, aged 13, has been seriously injured after they were attacked by a man with a knife while walking to school in southern Germany.

Police say the suspect came out of a refugee shelter in the village of Illerkirchberg on Monday morning and attacked the pupils.

The older girl later died in hospital.

German police have arrested a 27-year-old man, who is an asylum seeker from Eritrea.

In a statement, police urged the public not to use the incident to stoke suspicion of foreigners or asylum seekers.