At least nine individuals have been reported killed in a new mass shooting in Munich Friday afternoon.
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Investigators believe the shooter, an 18-year-old German-Iranian, killed himself and appears to have acted alone.
Police said ten people, including a gunman, were killed while 21 had been injured, including three people critically.
Police are using the term “suspected terrorism” in connection with the shooting.
DPA, the German Press Agency, reports the attack started shortly before 6 p.m. local time, according to Munich police spokesman Thomas Baumann.
Thousands of people had been crowding the streets and squares in Munich’s city center in the afternoon, clinking glasses, eating sausages, and listening to bands at a beer festival.
It was the second attack this week in Germany.
Police said on their Facebook and Twitter accounts that there were three gunmen. Photo; GettyHow many people have been hurt? Residents have been told to stay indoors during the police operation.
Munich public transit operator MVG says all subway, bus and trolley cars have been shut down because of the police operation until further notice.
The U.S. consulate in Munich advised all Americans in the city to shelter in place. “Because of the unclear situation we ask all people in the city area to stay at home or to look for protection in any nearby building”.
The western world is beset by terror attacks.
The shooting took place at Munich’s Olympia-Einkaufszentrum shopping mall.
USA intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial reports from their German counterparts indicated no apparent link between the shooter and Islamic State or other militant groups.
The violence happened just days after a teenage asylum seeker went on a rampage with an axe and a knife on a regional train in Germany on Monday, injuring five people, two of them critically.
This week, a teenager who said he was inspired by ISIS stabbed passengers on a German train before police shot him dead.
A spokesman said: “We are urgently investigating an incident in Munich and stand ready to provide assistance”.
► There have been no claims of responsibility and no arrests.
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The mall is adjacent to the Munich Olympic stadium, near where Palestinian terrorists took 11 Israeli athletes hostage and before killing them during the 1972 Olympic Games.
