Daily Times

MUNICH: At least six people were killed in a shooting rampage in a Munich shopping centre on Friday that police described as a suspected terror attack. Police warned of an “acute terror” situation in the southern German city, which saw panicked shoppers fleeing the mall as armed police roamed the streets on the hunt for the attackers. “We suspect terrorism,” a Munich police spokesman told AFP. The shooting spree began before 1600 GMT at a McDonald’s restaurant and continued on a nearby street before the gunmen moved into the OEZ shopping centre, a police spokeswoman said. “There are several dead and injured,” the spokeswoman said, without confirming the death toll of six given by a police source. It is the third strike against civilian targets in Europe in just over a week, and follows an axe rampage by a teenager on a train in the same German state of Bavaria on Monday and the truck attack in the French city of Nice on July 14. German news agency DPA quoted police as warning of an “acute terror situation” with three assailants at large armed with “long guns”. A video posted on social media appeared to show a man dressed in black walking away from the McDonald’s while firing repeatedly on people as they fled. Following the shooting spree, Munich’s main train station was evacuated and metro and bus transport in the city was suspended on police orders. Three gunmen were involved in the shooting, according to a police statement, citing witnesses. Europe has been on alert for terrorism in the wake of a string of attacks including bombings in neighbouring France and Belgium.