MUNICH: At least six people are believed to have been killed in a shooting rampage in a Munich shopping centre on Friday, a police source said, and three armed suspects are at large.
The shooting spree began before at a McDonald’s restaurant and continued on a nearby street before the gunmen moved into the mall near the Olympic stadium in the southern German city, a police spokeswoman said. “There are several dead and injured,” the spokeswoman said, without confirming the death toll of six.
Munich’s main train station has been evacuated and metro and bus transport in the city suspended, officials said.
Three gunmen were involved in the shooting, according to a police statement, citing witnesses. There was no information about the possible motives of the attack.
Europe has been on alert for terrorism in the wake of a string of attacks including bombings in neighbouring France and Belgium.
The OEZ shopping centre was surrounded by armed police, while a helicopter buzzed overhead.
“There is a major police operation under way in the shopping centre,” Munich police said on Twitter, urging people to avoid the area.
Emergency vehicles were seen in the streets outside, as shoppers rushed away from the mall, some carrying children in their arms.
“Attention — avoid the neighbourhood around the OEZ. Stay in your homes.
Leave the street,” the Munich police tweet said.
Germany has so far escaped the kind of large-scale jihadist attacks seen in France.
But the shooting comes 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. One victim is still fighting for his life, the hospital treating him said.
Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2016
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