UPDATE Munich attack: Death toll rises to ten
Several people have been shot dead in a shopping centre in Munich
Elena Enache, 23.07.2016, 00:35
A big security operation is under way in the German city of Munich after shots have been fired in a shopping centre. Police sources say the death toll rose to ten. According to local media, the 10th dead person is believed by police to be one of the killers, a German of 18, originated from Iran. His body was found on a green stretch near the Olympia shopping centre. Police have said at least three gunmen were involved in the attack at the Olympia mall and warned they are still “on the run and dangerous”. Investigators say the “acute terror situation” has sparked the biggest police operation in Munich for more than a decade.
No details have emerged on who was behind the shooting and no one has claimed responsibility. Authorities told the public to get off the streets as the city – Germanys third biggest – went into lockdown with transport halted and highways sealed off.
A police spokesman said there was no immediate indication that it was an Islamist attack but it was being treated as a terrorist incident. Fridays 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. Friday is also the five-year anniversary of the massacre by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway in which he killed 77 people. The attack in Munich is the third major act of violence against civilian targets to take place in Western Europe in eight days.
In a post on his Facebook page, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has said: “I firmly condemn this evening’s attack in Munich. Unfortunately, innocent people continue to be the victims of extreme and completely unjustified violence. Such coward crimes must be promptly and severely punished. Fresh efforts of the international community are needed to enhance the prevention and action capacity, by using all available means. My thoughts are now with the families and friends of the victims. I’m in touch with the relevant Romanian authorities who deploy all efforts to find out if there are any Romanians among the victims and provide assistance to those who need it.”
Speaking at the United Nations in New York, Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, has said: “Everybody is shocked and saddened by what has taken place. Our thoughts are very much with the victims, their families, with the people of Munich, and the people of Germany more widely. If, as seems very likely, this is another terrorist incident, then I think it proves once again that we have a global phenomenon now and a global sickness that we have to tackle both at source — in the areas where the cancer is being incubated in the Middle East — and also of course around the world.”
The European Council President, Donald Tusk and US President Barack Obama have also voiced solidarity with Germany.
