At least 10 people have been killed and 16 people injured in a shooting at the Olympia shopping mall in Munich, Germany, according to police.
A man found dead near a shopping center in Munich, Germany killed himself and was likely the lone gunman in an attack that killed 10 people and injured at least 16 others, a spokesman for the Munich police said on Saturday.
The suspect was an 18-year-old Iranian who lived in Munich, police told a news conference, but his motive is unclear.
Earlier police, citing eyewitness accounts, had said they were looking for up to three suspects in the shooting attack at the Munich Olympia Shopping Centre (OEZ) that sent shoppers running for their lives and shut traffic across the city.
But early Saturday, a Munich police spokesman said it was now believed likely that only one man was responsible for the shooting, the third attack against civilians in Western Europe in eight days.
“We can give a cautious ‘all-clear signal.’ It looks like the body found near the OEZ was the gunman,” a police spokesman told reporters.
Authorities had 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 initially said up to three gunmen were on the run after the shooting. The Bavarian capital was placed under a state of emergency as police hunted for them and special forces deployed in the city.
“We are telling the people of Munich there are shooters on the run who are dangerous,” he said. “We are urging people to stay indoors.”
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Police said 10 people had been killed and at least 16 were wounded. Around 100 people witnessed the shooting.
Authorities found a 10th body about 1 km (0.6 miles) from the scene that was later determined to be the likely gunman.
German radio station Bayerischer Rundfunk said the man had a red backpack similar to one used by a gunman seen at a McDonald’s restaurant where the attack reportedly began. It said police were using a robot to investigate the backpack.
German news magazine Focus said the dead man and suspected gunman had shot himself in the head.
At the height of the incident, people in the Olympia shopping center either fled or sought to hide.
“Many shots were fired, I can’t say how many but it’s been a lot,” said a shop worker hiding in a store room inside the mall.
It was the third major act of violence against civilians in Western Europe in eight days. Previous attacks in France and Germany were claimed by the DAESH (IS) militant group.
German security forces have been on alert since a teenage migrant stabbed and injured five people on a train in Bavaria on Monday, in an attack claimed by so-called DAESH (IS).
A video distributed online showed a man dressed in black firing at pedestrians. The authorities had warned of the danger of further incidents.
To all, who publish pictures of victims: STOP DOING THIS!
Please show more respect!#gunfire #munich— Polizei München (@PolizeiMuenchen) July 23, 2016
The sad result of #munich #gunfire
10 fatal casualties, among them the shooter
16 injured
For more see(german text):https://t.co/ZooBf7NG6J— Polizei München (@PolizeiMuenchen) July 23, 2016
