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Munich mall shooting: what we know

Munich shooting

Munich, Germany | AFP |

At least six people were believed to have been killed on Friday in a shooting rampage at a Munich shopping centre, with the attackers still believed to be at large.

Here is what we know:

What happened?

The shooters opened fire at a McDonald’s restaurant and continued onto a street before entering the mall near the Olympic stadium in the southern German city.

The shooting started shortly before 1600 GMT and authorities said witnesses reported seeing three gunmen.

A video posted on social media from the location appeared to show a man dressed in black walking away from the McDonald’s while firing repeatedly on people as they fled.

Authorities evacuated the main train station in the city of some 1.4 million, while metro and bus transport services were suspended in the wake of the assault.

The shopping centre, which opened in 1972 and bills itself as Bavaria’s biggest, was surrounded by armed police, while a helicopter buzzed overhead.

Who are the assailants?

The three attackers were still at large, fleeing in the direction of a nearby metro station, media reports said.

There was no information about the possible motives of the shooting, but Europe has been on alert in the wake of a string of attacks including bombings in neighbouring France and Belgium.

Train axe attack

The violence comes just days after a teenage asylum seeker went on a rampage with an axe and a knife on a regional train in Germany on Monday, injuring five people, two of them critically.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the teenager was believed to be a “lone wolf” attacker who appeared to have been “inspired” by the Islamic State group but was not a member of the jihadist network.

The assailant had arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Germany in June 2015 and had been staying with a foster family in the region of the attack for the last two weeks.

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