#Munich gunman opened fire on children at McDonald’s
At least nine people were killed when an 18-year-old “depressed” and “deranged” German-Iranian gunman, Ali David Sonboly, went on a shooting spree at a Munich, Germany shopping mall and McDonald’s, shouting “Allahu Akbar” as he shot children before spraying other people with gunfire, according to CNN, citing police and eyewitness accounts.
Police said Saturday that they believe the far-right Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik inspired the attacker. Friday, the day of the Munich attack, was the anniversary of Breivik’s 2011 mass murder of 77 people. They also described Sonboly as depressed, said he had psychiatric treatment, and said that he had books and news articles about school shootings. UK Mirror said Sonboly was bullied in school.
Harrowing moments were captured in disturbing videos posted on social media. A 10th body was found but is the shooter, CBS said. Daily Mirror quoted police as saying they were investigating a Facebook post before the shooting saying the McDonalds was offering free food.
#BREAKING: Munich shooter was German-Iranian, motive ‘unclear’: police
CBS News says police are calling the shooting “suspected terrorism” and a massive manhunt unfolded earlier in Germany as several gunmen were initially believed to still be at large. However, Munich police now say they think there was only one gunman, that he was from Munich, and that he is dead.
Some victims’ identities were starting to be released, and Facebook tributes sprouted up for one, Armela Segashi, a Kosovo-Albanian woman.
Armela Segashi, who died in the Munich attack. (Facebook)
In a press conference, they said he was German-Iranian, had dual German and Iranian nationality, and was not known previously to police, and was only 18. In a press conference on Saturday, Munich police said the gunman was “deranged” and “depressed” and said he had no ties to ISIS, AFP says. Police said the gunman obtained the weapon illegally and had previously been in psychiatritic care.
#BREAKING Munich police chief says ‘no indications whatsoever’ gunman had links to IS group
At the news conference, police said the motive is still unclear; however, an eyewitness told CNN the gunman shouted “Allahu Akbar” before shooting children in the face at the McDonalds and he referenced being bullied and receiving medical treatment on a rooftop video posted on social media. In the news conference, German police said “young people” were among the dead, and that they believe they know who the gunman is and needed to search his flat before settling on a definitive motive, Daily Mirror said. Preliminary reports say no link to ISIS was found.
Pictures and videos of the gunman were posted on social media, including at the McDonalds, where a shooter points a gun at fleeing people:
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Twitter reports said a “major police operation” was underway, and people posted live video feeds on social media, including video that appeared to show the gunman on a rooftop purportedly claiming, “Ich bin Deutscher” (“I am German”) as bystanders insult him. CNN says it is analyzing the rooftop video and that the purported gunman in it claims he is German and mentions medical treatment and says at one point he lived in a Turkish area of Germany. The attack comes on the anniversary of the mass shooting by Norwegian far-right murderer Anders Breivik, who killed 79 people on July 22, 2011.
MUNICH, GERMANY – JULY 22: Police arrest three men, whose identities and roles were not yet confirmed, near Marienplatz square following a rampage shooting in the city on July 22, 2016 in Munich, Germany. Several people have been killed and an unknown number injured in a shooting at a shopping centre at the Olympia Einkaufzentrum (OEZ). (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)
There were conflicting reports on the gunman’s motives and background, as one eyewitness told CNN she heard a gunman shout, “Allahu Akbar” before shooting children in the face at the McDonalds. CNN said police were calling it a “terror attack.” CBS News said German police were calling it “suspected terrorism.”
Bild said the gunman lived in “the district of Maxvorstadt” with his parents. Bild said he went to school near the home, and his neighbors had seen him the day before. Bild quoted a neighbor as saying, “He lived right next to me. I saw him only occasionally and do not really know him. A friend of mine was his classmate, saying that he was more of a quiet type.”
Watch the German police press conference:
Early reports led some to think the shooter harbored anti-immigrant beliefs. UK Mirror says the gunman may have shouted, “f***ing foreigners” before shooting. According to The Mirror: “Taxi driver says #Munich shooter “was not foreign.” However, there were also the reports that the gunman shouted the phrase “Ich bin Deutscher” or “I am German” on video. Reddit has posted a translation of the German in the video.
An 8-year-old boy saw the gunman loading a gun in the bathroom. There were reports of a second shooting scene:
Reports of a second shooting at Marienplatz station #Munich t.co/uMwFbEuveB
Other videos showed the live police response:
The number of dead grew in the hours after the first shooting report. Sky News initially said at least three were reported dead. UK Daily Mail upped the casualty count to six deaths. Eventually, police said 10 bodies were found, including one who might be a gunman. The Sun said a body believed to be the gunman “has been found a kilometre from the shooting scene wearing a read backpack and police have sent a robot to inspect the corpse.”
There were reports from the U.S. Consulate of multiple shootings throughout the city. CNN said police initially reported witness accounts of three armed gunmen and said that shots were fired both in the mall and at the McDonalds, which is located across the street from it. However, police now think there was just one shooter.
Sky News confirmed that police were saying shots were fired at the shopping mall. The Guardian reported that a police spokesman had said “several people have been killed and more injured in the shootout at the Olympia shopping mall.” CNN quoted German broadcaster NTV as initially saying “at least 1 person dead, 10 injured, in shooting at Munich shopping mall.” The casualty count kept growing after the initial reports, however. A police spokesman called the incident a “shooting spree,” said CNN.
US citizens in #Munich advised to shelter in place. Media reports of shots fired at Olympia shopping mall:
MUNICH, GERMANY – JULY 22: Police officers escort people from inside the shopping center as they respond to a shooting at the Olympia Einkaufzentrum (OEZ) at July 22, 2016 in Munich, Germany. According to reports, several people have been killed and an unknown number injured in a shooting at a shopping centre in the north-western Moosach district in Munich. Police are hunting the attacker or attackers who are thought to be still at large. (Photo by Joerg Koch/Getty Images)
The Guardian said police were evacuating the mall. The Guardian, quoting a German newspaper, said that a mall employee reported hearing “shots and saw injured people … We can not go outside.”
DEVELOPING: Major police operation underway after shots fired at the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum shopping mall in Munich, Germany.
Passengers on the metro were asked to leave immediately, reports said:
Earlier in July, an ISIS supporter with an axe attacked German passengers on a train. The train attack occurred in Bavaria, where Munich is also located; the 17-year-old attacker was an Afghan asylum seeker who seriously injured three people, said The Guardian.
The shopping center attack also comes after Mohamed Bouhlel murdered more than 80 people by ramming a truck into a crowd at a Nice, France Bastille Day celebration. French prosecutors announced July 21 that they had arrested five other people they think helped Bouhlel in the planning stages of the attack and said they were bringing them up on charges.
Shocking images emerge as death toll rises in #Munich shooting t.co/cORYnojL4Z
Graphic photos and videos circulated on social media, and one photo on social media appeared to show a body lying in the street.
Police respond to shooting spree at #Munich #OEZ shopping centre t.co/JREgqv2czJ
#MunichShooting: Shooters’ location still unknown – police t.co/2XDyAY80cI t.co/tEG2xWBxHP #Munich
NOW Munich: Eyewitnes Sabotic, 46 : “I heard shootings and people screaming! It lasted minutes”
Pictured: The shooter on the car park roof of #OEZ shopping centre in #Munich t.co/965ePBwODp
Gunfire reported in Munich. Live feed: t.co/fFXv5DZKEI