Shooting rampage in mall kills eight
Gunmen have attacked a busy mall in the German city of Munich, killing at least eight people and sending shoppers running for their lives from what police said was a terrorist attack.
Authorities told the public to get off the streets as the city went into lockdown this morning, with transport halted and highways sealed off.
A police spokesman said three gunmen were on the run after the initial shooting subsided. The city was placed under a state of emergency as police hunted for them.
Police said later that eight people had been killed and an undetermined number wounded. A ninth body had also been found, and they were checking to see it was one of the gunmen.
Munich newspaper TZ said one of the shooters was dead. German news magazine Focus said a gunman had shot himself. Neither report could be immediately confirmed.
A witness reported that a gunman had targeted children in the attack, CNN reported.
‘‘I come out of the toilet and I hear like an alarm, boom, boom, boom . . . He’s killing the children ( . . . ) The children were sitting to eat. They can’t run,’’ a witness named Lauretta told the news network.
‘‘Many shots were fired, I can’t say how many but it’s been a lot,’’ said a shop worker hiding in a store room inside the mall.
As special forces deployed in the city, some people remained holed up in the Olympia shopping centre, which police said had been evacuated.
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. A police spokesman said there was no immediate indication that it was an Islamist attack but it was being treated as a terrorist incident.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but supporters of Isis celebrated on social media. ‘‘The Islamic state is expanding in Europe,’’ read one tweet.
A video posted online – whose authenticity could not be confirmed – showed a man dressed in black outside a McDonald’s by the roadside, drawing a handgun and shooting towards members of the public.
Munich’s main railway station was also evacuated. BR television said police had also sealed off many highways north of Munich and people were told to leave them.
Today’s attack took place a week after a 17-year-old asylumseeker wounded passengers on a German train with an axe.
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Bild newspaper’s Friday edition before the mall attack that there was ‘‘no reason to panic but it’s clear that Germany remains a possible target’’.
The incidents in Germany follow an attack in Nice, France, on Bastille Day in which a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds, killing 84.
US President Barack Obama pledged support for Germany. ‘‘Our hearts go out to those who may have been injured.’’