Nine dead in shooting as govt calls out army in Germany

MUNICH: At least nine and some reports say 15 people have been killed in a shooting rampage in a Munich shopping centre, a police source says, and three armed suspects are at large.

A cop said that the attackers are not Muslims. The government has called out the army to control the situation. Authorities were evacuating people from the Olympia mall but many others were hiding inside. 

A Munich police spokeswoman said multiple people were killed or wounded. "We believe we are dealing with a shooting rampage," the spokeswoman said.

More than one gunman was believed to be involved and no one had been arrested, she said. "We believe there was more than one perpetrator. The first reports came at 6 pm, the shooting apparently began at a McDonald’s in the shopping centre. There are still people in the shopping centre. We are trying to get the people out and take care of them.

"Police special forces had arrived at the scene, NTV said. Munich police said they suspected it was a terrorist attack. Three gunmen were believed to be involved, the police said.

German media reported six people were killed in the shooting spree but some reports put the death toll at 15. Authorities shut down public transportation and warned people to stay home or seek protection.

The police Facebook page quoted eyewitnesses as saying they had seen three attackers carrying guns. Police are now describing it as "an acute terror situation". A big security operation was under way at the Olympia shopping centre in the north-western Moosach district.

It was the third major act of violence against civilian targets to take place in Western Europe in eight days. Previous attacks in France and Germany were claimed by the Islamic State militant group.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, which took place a week after an axe-wielding teenager went on a rampage on a German train. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack.

Staff in the mall were still in hiding, an employee told Reuters by telephone. "Many shots were fired, I can´t say how many but it´s been a lot," the employee, who declined to be identified, said from the mall in Munich.

"All the people from outside came streaming into the store and I only saw one person on the ground who was so severely injured that he definitely didn´t survive,""We have no further information, we´re just staying in the back in the storage rooms. No police have approached us yet.

"Munich transport authorities said they had halted several bus, train and tram lines. The shopping center is next to the Munich Olympic stadium, where the Palestinian militant group Black September took 11 Israeli athletes hostage and eventually killed them during the 1972 Olympic Games. Friday´s attack took place a week after a 17-year-old asylum-seeker wounded passengers on a German train in an axe rampage. Bavarian police shot dead the teenager after he wounded four people from Hong Kong on the train and injured a local resident while fleeing.

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Bild newspaper´s Friday edition before the mall attack that there was "no reason to panic but it´s clear that Germany remains a possible target". The incidents in Germany follow an attack in Nice, France, on Bastille Day in which a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds, killing 84.

Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack. There was, however, no immediate word that the attack was politically motivated. Friday is also the five-year anniversary of the massacre by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway. Breivik is a hero for far-right extremists in Europe and America.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama pledged support for Germany after the shooting rampage in Munich. "We don´t yet know exactly what´s happening there, but obviously our hearts go out to those who may have been injured," Obama said, before speaking at a White House meeting. "We are going to pledge all the support they may need," he said.