Unidentified gunmen, on Friday evening, launched a deadly attack on a busy shopping mall in the German city of Munich, spraying bullets as people fled in horror for safety from what police said was a terrorist attack.
Police said that six people have been killed and the attackers were still at large. They told the public to get off the streets as the city – Germany’s third biggest – went into lockdown, with transport halted and highways sealed off.
As Special Forces rushed to the scene, some people remained holed up in the Olympia shopping center.
“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.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she had seen a shooting victim on the floor who appeared to be dead or dying.
A worker at a different shop, Harun Balta, said: “We are still stuck inside the mall without any information; we’re waiting for the police to rescue us.”
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.
No suspects had been arrested yet, she said.
Police spokesman said: “we believe there was more than one perpetrator. The first reports came at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT), the shooting apparently began at a McDonald’s in the shopping center. There are still people in the shopping center. We are trying to get the people out and take care of them.”
The mall near the southern German city’s Olympic stadium was surrounded by police after shots were fired.
“There is a major police operation under way in the shopping centre,” Munichpolice said on Twitter, urging people to avoid the area.
Emergency vehicles were seen in the streets outside, as passers-by looked on.
The shooting comes just days after a teenage asylum seeker went on rampage with an axe and a knife on a regional train in Germany, injuring five people.
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.
It also follows a truck attack in the French Riviera city of Nice after Bastille Day fireworks last week that left 84 people dead. [myad]
