Gunman opens fire in Munich shopping centre

We found a man, who killed him himself.
We assume, that he was the only shooter. #gunfire #munich

— Polizei München (@PolizeiMuenchen) July 22, 2016

Nine innocent people were killed in the shooting, which took place at about 6pm local time (2am AEST) in front of scores of shoppers at the Olympia shopping center in the Moosach district. Another 21 were injured, according to the latest official toll, with 16 being treated in hospital. Three of the victims suffered serious injuries.

The shooter’s body was found about a kilometre away from the shopping centre. A red rucksack found near the body was being examined for explosives, police said. The gunman, who apparently used a pistol according to initial evidence, was not previously known to police.

Confirmation of his death ended a manhunt for potential accomplices— and explosives— that kept the city in lockdown for several hours.

Munich police, who called the attack a “confusing situation” involving “suspected terrorism,” initially hunted for up to three possible shooters armed with rifles while investigating whether a man’s body, found in the shopping centre carpark, was one of the attackers.

WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE?

As news of the attack broke, conflicting reports emerged about the gunman’s potential motives, with some outlets reporting that he was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire.

A Muslim woman told CNN she had heard the man yell out the Arabic phrase, which has become a catchcry of Islamic jihadists.

But local media speculated that a right-wing extremist group could be behind the attack, which came exactly five years after white supremacist mass killer Anders Breivik murdered 77 people in Norway.

In a video believed to have been filmed at the scene of the attack, a man carrying a rifle can be heard shouting racist obscenities up to people filming him from a balcony.

“I was born here! ... I am German,” the shooter can be heard saying.

Munich police said they believe the footage, filmed on a mobile phone, was genuine.

Witness Luan Zequiri told local broadcaster n-tv that he heard the attacker yell an anti-foreigner slur, followed by “a really loud scream”.

“I looked in his direction and he shot two people on the stairs,” Mr Zequiri said.

He said he hid in a shop, then ran outside when the coast was clear and saw bodies of the dead and wounded on the ground.

EARLIER: MUNICH IN LOCKDOWN

The city of 1.4 million people was in lockdown into the early hours of Saturday morning, with all trains, trams, buses and subways shut down as police urged residents to stay indoors.

Hospitals called in extra staff to prepare for the possibility of large numbers of wounded.

Facebook created a safety check for the Munich shooting, while social media users are offered safe spaces to local residents using the hashtag #offentür.

Police set up a hotline for people who are missing relatives and are sending out tweets with safety suggestions in four languages — German, English, French, Turkish. All hotels have been instructed to close and taxis not to pick up customers.

“At the moment no culprit has been arrested,” Munich police said on social media. “The search is taking place at high speed.”

A security official told The Associated Press that 30 members of the GSG9 special operations unit were landing in Munich “as we speak”.

SHOPPERS TARGETED

Police said witnesses reported seeing three different people with guns near the shopping centre in the Moosach district of the Bavarian capital, not far from the Olympic Stadium.

Munich police spokeswoman Claudia Kuenzel told The Associated Press there had been “several dead and wounded” at the shopping centre.

Munich police spokesman Marcus Martins has told media they were aware of reports that a man had killed himself while he was being arrested, but said there was no confirmation of this yet.

Public broadcaster Bayrischer Rundfunk reported that shops in the centre of Munich had closed with customers inside.

Munich police urged people to avoid public places. “The situation is still unclear,” they said on Twitter.

TERROR RISK HIGH

German security forces have been on alert after a teenage migrant stabbed and injured five people on a train in Bavaria on Monday in an attack later claimed by Islamic State.

On Monday, a 17-year-old Afghan wounded four people in an axe-and-knife attack on a regional train near the Bavarian city of Wurzburg, and another woman outside as he fled.

All survived, although one man from the train remains in a life-threatening condition. The attacker was shot and killed by police.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the train attack, but authorities have said the teen likely acted alone.

INTERNATIONAL REACTION

United States President Barack Obama pledged to provide the nation, “one of our closest allies”, with whatever help it may need to investigate a deadly shooting incident.

Explaining his tardiness for a White House meeting on police issues, he told reporters that the shooting was a reminder that people’s way of life, freedom and ability to go about their everyday business depended upon law enforcement.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in a statement: “Our prayers are with all those affected by the horrible attacks in Munich. This cannot continue. The rise of terrorism threatens the way of life for all civilised people, and we must do everything in our power to keep it from our shores.”

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he was “shocked and saddened” by the attack, adding that if the violence was terrorism-linked “it proves once again that we have a global phenomenon, a global sickness.” Terrorism and violent extremism must be tackled globally, he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will convene her security council on Saturday to address the deadly shooting.

Her chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, said the possibility of a terrorist link had not been ruled out.

“All that we know and can say right now is that it was a cruel and inhumane attack,” he said on German public channel ARD.