Multiple casualties in shooting rampage in Munich shopping mall
Gunmen attacked a busy mall in the German city of Munich this evening, killing at least eight people and sending shoppers running for their lives from what police said was a terrorist attack.
Authorities 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 said three gunmen were on the run after the initial shooting subsided. The city was placed under a state of emergency as police hunted for them.
As special forces rushed to the scene, some people remained holed up in the Olympia shopping centre.
"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. The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she had seen a shooting victim on the floor who appeared to be dead or dying.
A worker at a different shop, Harun Balta, said: "We are still stuck inside the mall without any information, we're waiting for the police to rescue us."
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 Islamic State militant group.
Munich police spokeswoman said six people were killed and an undetermined number wounded. No suspects had been arrested yet, she said.
"We believe there was more than one perpetrator. The first reports came at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT), the shooting apparently began at a McDonald's in the shopping centre. There are still people in the shopping centre. We are trying to get the people out and take care of them," the spokeswoman said.
Bavarian broadcaster BR said six people were dead and many wounded in the shopping mall. Munich police said on Facebook that witnesses reported three different gunmen armed with rifles.
A video posted online - whose authenticity could not be confirmed - showed a man dressed in black outside a McDonalds by the roadside, drawing a handgun and shooting towards members of the public.
Munich's main railway station was also evacuated. BR said police had also sealed off many highways north of Munich had been shut down and people were told to leave them.
Obama pledges support to Germany
US President Barack Obama today pledged support for Germany after gunmen went on a shooting rampage in a shopping mall in Munich.
"We don't yet know exactly what's happening there, but obviously our hearts go out to those who may have been injured," Obama said, before speaking at a White House meeting.
"We are going to pledge all the support they may need," he said.
Friday's 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.
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Bild newspaper's Friday edition before the mall attack that there was "no reason to panic but it's clear that Germany remains a possible target".
The incidents in Germany follow an attack in Nice, France, on Bastille Day in which a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds, killing 84. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack.
Friday is also the five-year anniversary of the massacre by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway. Breivik is a hero for far-right extremists in Europe and America.
The Munich assault was also reminiscent of Islamist militant attacks in a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2013 and on a hotel in Mumbai, India, in November 2008.