UPDATES WITH INITIAL FINDINGS OF POLICE INVESTIGATION
BERLIN (AA) – At least 10 people are dead, including the possible gunman, and more than a dozen injured after a shooting spree on Friday in a shopping mall in the southern German city of Munich, according to officials.
Munich police announced on Twitter that the suspected gunman was found dead nearly one kilometer from the Olympia shopping center, and he is believed to be the sole shooter according to the initial findings of the investigation.
“We found a man, who killed him himself. We assume, that he was the only shooter,” Munich police posted on Twitter.
The motivation of the attack was not immediately clear, and police said so far there had been no indication of a religious-extremist attack.
Video footage aired on N24 TV station showed a male assailant randomly shooting at people in front of a fast food restaurant near the Munich Olympia shopping center.
Police said the assailant killed at least 9 people, and nearly 21 people were sent to hospitals after the attack.
The shooting alarmed authorities on Friday evening amid growing threats by the terrorist group Daesh to launch attacks targeting European countries.
Police had launched a major manhunt in Munich city soon after the incident to arrest up to three assailants who were believed to carry long guns, according to witness statements.
The Munich Olympia shopping center was evacuated and elite GSG 9 counterterrorism teams were sent to the city for a possible operation against the assailants.
Meanwhile, reactions to the attack began to stream in late Friday from around the world.
The White House called the attack “heinous”, condemning it “in the strongest terms”.
“The resolve of Germany, the United States, and the broader international community will remain unshaken in the face of acts of despicable violence such as this,” the statement said.
“All of Europe now with Munich,” Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, posted on his Twitter account.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack in a statement, saying: “International solidarity and cooperation is essential in the fight against the scourge of terrorism that targets the common values of humanity.”
