Gunmen Kill at Least Eight in Munich Shopping Mall, Shooters on the Run

Gunmen opened fire in a busy mall in the German city of Munich on Friday evening, killing at least eight people and sending shoppers running for their lives in the third attack against civilians in Western Europe in eight days.

Authorities 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.

A police spokesman said up to three gunmen were on the run after the initial shooting. {snip}

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Police said eight people had been killed and an undetermined number wounded. A ninth body had also been found about 1 km (0.6 miles) from the scene and they were checking to see it was one of the gunmen.

Munich newspaper TZ said one of the shooters was dead. German news magazine Focus said a gunman had shot himself in the head.

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A police spokesman said there was no immediate indication that it was an Islamist attack but it was being treated as a terrorist incident.

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A video posted online, whose authenticity could not be confirmed, showed a man dressed in black outside a McDonalds by the roadside, drawing a handgun and shooting towards members of the public.

Witnesses had seen shooting both inside the mall and on nearby streets, police said.

Several hours after the shooting, police said it was unclear if the shooters were still in Munich. As night closed in, the streets of the city were largely deserted.

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[Editor’s Note: Washington Post says the attack was carried out by an 18-year-old “German-Iranian” lone gunman.]