An 18-year-old German-Iranian gunman who apparently acted alone opened fire in a busy shopping mall in Munich on Friday evening, killing at least nine people.
The pistol-wielding attacker, identified by Munich Police Chief Hubertus Andrae as a dual national, was later found dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.
Police, citing eyewitness accounts, had initially said they were looking for up to three suspects in the shooting attack at the Munich Olympia Shopping Centre that sent shoppers fleeing in panic and shut traffic across the city.
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Multiple shootings reported at Munich shopping centre. Lone gunman, say initial reports, police at scene. Developing... #oez
— Derek Scally (@DerekinBerlin) July 22, 2016
But authorities told a news conference early on Saturday the shooter was believed to have staged the attack alone, opening fire in a fast food restaurant before moving on to the mall.
Sixteen people, including several children, were injured in the attack and three were in critical condition, Andrae said.
Munich was in lockdown after the shooting in the Bavarian capital, which Bavaria has classified as an “acute terrorist attack”.
Police urged locals to stay at home on Friday night and closed the entire public transport network and some highways, as special forces combed the city for the suspects with automatic weapons who witnesses said were behind the shooting.
The city was also placed under a state of emergency.
Emergency call
Just before 6pm local time an emergency call reported a shooting at a fast food restaurant at the Olympic Shopping Centre (OEZ), triggering a massive police deployment of more than 200 vehicles and hundreds of officers.
While special forces combed the shopping centre for the reported gunmen, police halted buses and U-Bahn traffic at the adjoining train station, while television stations filmed helicopters hovering over the centre.
Over social media, in several languages, Munich police urged people not to post images or other information about their operation for fear of assisting the gunmen.
Video footage appeared to show a man opening fire on people outside a McDonald’s restaurant near to the shopping centre.
The sound of multiple shots being fired can be heard as shoppers and passersby run for cover.
People were seen fleeing from the building in another video posted on social media.
“I saw people running out, ducking for cover in residential buildings nearby,” said Richard Gutjahr of BR public television.
“Police look extremely nervous and are not letting their weapons out of their hands for a moment. It’s a martial atmosphere.”
About 8pm local time, police shut down the public transport network, closed the city’s central train station and diverted all long-distance and regional trains away from the city.
At about the same time, police helicopters moved from over the shopping mall to the city centre, but police dismissed as a false alarm reports of a shooting at the Karlsplatz-Stachus square, near the central train station.
“We believe we are dealing with a shooting rampage,” a police spokeswoman said, adding that nobody had been arrested.
Hiding
Staff in the mall hid in the shopping centre during the incident, an employee told Reuters by telephone.
“Many shots were fired, I can’t say how many but it’s been a lot,” the employee, who declined to be identified, said from the mall.
“All the people from outside came streaming into the store and I only saw one person on the ground who was so severely injured that he definitely didn’t survive.
“We have no further information, we’re just staying in the back in the storage rooms.”
The OEZ is one of Munich’s most popular shopping centres.
Residents near the centre opened their doors to those who fled the shopping centre and others unable to get home because of the transport shut-down.
Local hospitals also summoned in staff to cope with the expected influx of injured.
News of the shooting came hours after a suspicious bag caused an alarm at Munich’s main train station.
Nerves in Bavaria have been on edge since Monday evening, when an axe-wielding 17-year-old refugee attacked passengers on a regional train near Würzburg in the northern Frankonia region.
It was the third major act of violence against civilians in Western Europe in eight days.
Previous attacks in France and Germany were claimed by the Islamic State militant group.
Reaction
Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer called an emergency cabinet meeting following the attack, while Germany’s elite commando unit GSG9 headed for Munich.
German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the motive for the attack was not yet clear.
“The motives for this abhorrent act have not yet been completely clarified - we still have contradictory clues,” Mr Steinmeier said in a statement.
Chancellery staff met on Friday evening to assess the situation in Munich but German chancellor Angela Merkel was not present.
However, Dr Merkel’s chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, said: “Our thoughts are with the victims of the attack, with their relatives and also with the police who defend our freedom and security.
“The chancellor is being updated constantly, the relevant ministers are on their way to Berlin. We will assess the situation tomorrow in the federal security cabinet.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said he was horrified by the violence and said the department was not aware of any Irish citizens caught up in the incident.
“My department is monitoring the situation and is in close contact with the Irish Embassy in Berlin. I urge any Irish citizens in the area to follow the German authorities’ advice to avoid public areas and to stay indoors.”
US president Barack Obama pledged his support for Germany.
“We don’t yet know exactly what’s happening there, but obviously our hearts go out to those who may have been injured,” Mr Obama said, before speaking at a White House meeting.
“We are going to pledge all the support they may need,” he said.
Additional reporting: Agencies
