Frankfurt, Germany- A shooter, or shooters, kill eight people and wounded an unknown number of victims in Munich Friday evening. A video posted online shows how a man dressed in black opens fire with what appears to be a handgun and a rifle near a Mcdonald’s Restaurant at the Olympia Shopping Center.
The New York Times reports that police received the first call at 5:50 p.m. and the person calling for help said the gunshots came from the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum, best known as the Olympia Shopping Center, and from Hanauer Street and Ries Street. The only shooting confirmed was the one that took place in the shopping mall which is in Moosach district, north of the city center.
A deputy spokesman for the Munich police, Thomas Baumann, told the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur that it is not clear if it was 1 or more shooters. He added that the situation is still “completely confusing.”
Police officers suspect it could be a terrorist attack
A few hours after Baumann announcement another police spokesman said, according to The Washington Post, that they are looking for three men with “long guns.” Police spokesman Peter Beck told reporters that the men are on the run and warned they are dangerous. He said the suspects were armed with rifles and stated that Islamic terrorism was not suspected, reports Fox News.
According to Reuters, a Munich police spokeswoman reported that eight people died because of the shooting and stated that the number of wounded had not been calculated. A senior security official told The Washington Post that four people were killed inside the McDonald’s restaurant, and one was fatally shot outside. He added that the other victim died in the hospital.
Hospitals in Munich have called in extra staff to prepare for the possibility of more wounded
The suspects have not been arrested yet. Germany’s elite GSG9 anti-terror police and the federal police efforts to capture the attackers have paralyzed the city. The Daily Mail says that the Munich public transit operator MVG informed that all subway, bus, and trolley cars had been stopped and close. Munich is the third most populous city in Germany, and after the transport shut down, it looks desolated, and tension runs the streets. Southern Munich is on lockdown.
All hospitals in Munich have summoned extra personnel in case there are more victims in the hands of the suspects, says the Daily Mail.
Munich police urged people to stay at home or to seek refuge in buildings and not public areas. And through its Twitter account, the police asks citizens not to publish any video regarding the shooting or the dead and wounded because these actions help the perpetrators.
Reports of a second shooting at Marienplatz station #Munich https://t.co/uMwFbEuveB
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 22, 2016
The Munich shooting is the third attack in Europe in a week
The first one took place in Nice where a truck driver hit and shoot people that were celebrating Bastille day on July 14. 84 people died, and more than 200 were injured. ISIS claimed the attacked. https://www.pulseheadlines.com/nice-attacks-turn-bastille-day-celebrations-bloodshed/40730/
On Monday a 17-year-old attacked and wounded 4 people with an ax and a knife. ISIS also assumed responsibility.
Source: The New York Times