Killer’s motives unclear
MUNICH An 18-year-old GermanIranian man opened fire in a crowded Munich shopping mall and a nearby McDonald’s yesterday, killing nine people and wounding 16 others before killing himself, the chief of police in the Bavarian capital said.
Hubertus Andrae told a news conference that the suspect was a dual citizen from Munich and his motive was still ‘‘fully unclear’’.
He said it was too early to label the attack an act of terrorism. Earlier, police said they had no indication of Islamic extremism.
‘‘The question of terrorism or a rampage is tied to motive, and we don’t know the motive,’’ Andrae said.
Police gave a ‘‘cautious all clear’’ in the pre-dawn, more than seven hours after the attack began and brought much of the city to a standstill as all public transport systems were shut down amid a massive manhunt.
They said a body found near the scene was that of the shooter, and he appeared to have acted alone and killed himself as he fled.
Andrae said the body was found about 21⁄ hours after the attack, and was determined to be that of the shooter based on witness statements and security camera footage of the attack.
The shooter, whose name wasn’t released, was not previously known to police, and REUTERS there was no evidence of him having any links to terrorist organisations, Andrae said.
A cellphone video posted online showed the suspect dressed in black standing on a rooftop parking area of the mall yelling back and forth with the person filming, saying at one point ‘‘I’m German’’ and eventually firing shots. Andrae said police believed the video was genuine.
Witnesses had reported seeing three men with firearms near the Olympia Einkaufszentrum mall. Andrae said two other people who fled the area were investigated but had ‘‘nothing to do with the incident’’.
The police chief said the nine fatalities included young people, and children were among the 16 wounded, three of whom were in a critical condition.
After gunfire broke out at the mall, one of Munich’s largest, the REUTERS city sent a smartphone alert declaring an ‘‘emergency situation’’ and telling people to stay indoors, while all rail, subway and trolleybus services were halted in the city.
It was the third major act of violence against civilians in Western Europe in eight days. The previous attacks, in the French resort city of Nice and on a train in Bavaria near the city of Wuerzburg, were claimed by the Islamic State group.
Germany’s interior minister cut short a holiday in the United States to return to Berlin today to meet with security officials. AP