Heavily armed police forces operate at Karlsplatz (Stachus) square after a shooting in the Olympia shopping centre was reported in Munich, southern Germany, Friday, July 22, 2016. A ninth body had also been found and they were checking to see it was one of the gunmen.
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There had been a false alarm, police said, but authorities still weren’t sure what the situation was in the city centre.
At least 10 others were injured after multiple shots were fired on Hanauer Street before the attack moved to the Olympia Einkaufszentrum shopping centre in the south German city at about 6pm on Friday. The resulting failed negotiations by the West German police and shootout at the airport left 17 people dead, including some of the perpetrators.
During a press conference Friday afternoon, police said they are now also looking for the attackers outside of Munich. BR television said police had sealed off many highways north of Munich and people were told to leave them.
Due to the still unclear situation, the police asked all people in Munich’s urban area to stay at home or to search protection in nearby buildings. He told German broadcaster n-tv that he heard the attack yell an anti-foreigner slur and then “There was a really loud scream”.
Two people were seen fleeing the scene in a vehicle at high speed, triggering fears that the gunman had accomplices, police said. The Chancellor is being kept up to date at all times and everything we know and can say so far is that it was an inhuman, cruel attack.
He told the German public channel ARD that “we can’t rule out that there are terrorist links. We can’t confirm them, but we are investigating along those lines too”.
Police have responded to the attack in large numbers.
The shopping mall is located next to the Olympic Stadium in the city where 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered by the Black September Palestinian militant group during the Olympic Games in 1972.
The Bavarian capital’s main train station was evacuated and bus, metro and tram services were suspended.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the teenager was believed to be a “lone wolf” attacker who appeared to have been “inspired” by the Islamic State group but was not a member of the jihadist network.
The incidents in Germany follow an attack in Nice, France, on Bastille Day in which a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds, killing 84.
The shooting coincides with the 5th anniversary of the the massacre of 77 people in Norway by rightwing fanatic Anders Behring Breivik.
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US President Barack Obama on Friday pledged support to Germany in the wake of the shooting rampage.
