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| 9 Dead in Shooting Rampage in Munich, Police Say | 9 Dead in Shooting Rampage in Munich, Police Say |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| MUNICH — At least one gunman opened fire near a shopping mall in Munich just before 6 p.m. on Friday, killing eight people and wounding scores of others in an assault that the German police said they were treating as a suspected terrorist attack. | MUNICH — At least one gunman opened fire near a shopping mall in Munich just before 6 p.m. on Friday, killing eight people and wounding scores of others in an assault that the German police said they were treating as a suspected terrorist attack. |
| The manhunt shut down traffic and public transportation across Munich, Germany’s third-most-populous city and the capital of the state of Bavaria. Police said they had found the body of a ninth person near the mall and were investigating the possibility that he was an attacker. | The manhunt shut down traffic and public transportation across Munich, Germany’s third-most-populous city and the capital of the state of Bavaria. Police said they had found the body of a ninth person near the mall and were investigating the possibility that he was an attacker. |
| A state of emergency was declared in the city, plunging much of the metropolis into a desolate and fearful state of lockdown. As the transit system was shut down, commuters held their hands up in the air as they walked past police officers. | A state of emergency was declared in the city, plunging much of the metropolis into a desolate and fearful state of lockdown. As the transit system was shut down, commuters held their hands up in the air as they walked past police officers. |
| “At this point, we believe there are three perpetrators, there are conflicting reports, but there are as many as three perpetrators on the run,” said Marcus da Gloria Martins, a spokesman for the Munich police. He said the suspects were armed with “long guns.” | “At this point, we believe there are three perpetrators, there are conflicting reports, but there are as many as three perpetrators on the run,” said Marcus da Gloria Martins, a spokesman for the Munich police. He said the suspects were armed with “long guns.” |
| But a short while later, Peter Altmaier, the chief of staff for Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that security officials had specific information about only one individual, who was believed to be still at large. “We are certain about one person,” Mr. Altmaier said, adding that there was no information regarding the motive of the attack. | But a short while later, Peter Altmaier, the chief of staff for Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that security officials had specific information about only one individual, who was believed to be still at large. “We are certain about one person,” Mr. Altmaier said, adding that there was no information regarding the motive of the attack. |
| Police officers from Munich and from elsewhere in Bavaria flooded the city. An elite counterterrorism unit of the federal police has also been deployed to Munich, officials said. | Police officers from Munich and from elsewhere in Bavaria flooded the city. An elite counterterrorism unit of the federal police has also been deployed to Munich, officials said. |
| The police issued an appeal to the public not to share images or photographs of the attack, of the victims, or of police operations, warning, “Don’t help the perpetrators!” | The police issued an appeal to the public not to share images or photographs of the attack, of the victims, or of police operations, warning, “Don’t help the perpetrators!” |
| The police said they received a call around 5:50 p.m. Shots were reported from Hanauer Street, Ries Street and the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum, or Olympia Shopping Center, in the Moosach district, northwest of the city center, but it was not clear precisely where the shooting had occurred. | The police said they received a call around 5:50 p.m. Shots were reported from Hanauer Street, Ries Street and the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum, or Olympia Shopping Center, in the Moosach district, northwest of the city center, but it was not clear precisely where the shooting had occurred. |
| A video distributed online showed a man dressed in black opening fire near a McDonald’s restaurant that is next to the shopping mall. | A video distributed online showed a man dressed in black opening fire near a McDonald’s restaurant that is next to the shopping mall. |
| Shooting victims began arriving on Friday evening at the Klinikum der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, a university hospital, according to a spokesman there. The spokesman, Philipp Kressirer, said he did not yet have information about the conditions of the patients or how many were there. The hospital was one of several receiving and treating victims, he said. | Shooting victims began arriving on Friday evening at the Klinikum der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, a university hospital, according to a spokesman there. The spokesman, Philipp Kressirer, said he did not yet have information about the conditions of the patients or how many were there. The hospital was one of several receiving and treating victims, he said. |
| Horst Seehofer, the premier of Bavaria, and Joachim Herrmann, the state’s interior minister, convened a crisis meeting at the State Chancellery in Munich. | Horst Seehofer, the premier of Bavaria, and Joachim Herrmann, the state’s interior minister, convened a crisis meeting at the State Chancellery in Munich. |
| In Washington, President Obama expressed support for Germany. “We don’t yet know exactly what’s happening there, but obviously our hearts go out to those who may have been injured,” he said from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. “It’s still an active situation, and Germany is one of our closest allies, and so we are going to pledge all of the support that they may need in dealing with these circumstances.” | In Washington, President Obama expressed support for Germany. “We don’t yet know exactly what’s happening there, but obviously our hearts go out to those who may have been injured,” he said from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. “It’s still an active situation, and Germany is one of our closest allies, and so we are going to pledge all of the support that they may need in dealing with these circumstances.” |
| Mr. Obama was briefed on the situation by Lisa O. Monaco, his assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism. | Mr. Obama was briefed on the situation by Lisa O. Monaco, his assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism. |
| The State Department advised Americans in Munich not to attempt to travel to the consulate there. “Residents have been warned not to leave their homes,” the advisory warned. “For your own safety, avoid squares and streets: perpetrators are on the run. Train and bus transport suspended. Turn radio and TV on. Munich’s mainline railway station is closed, and mass transit remains halted.” | The State Department advised Americans in Munich not to attempt to travel to the consulate there. “Residents have been warned not to leave their homes,” the advisory warned. “For your own safety, avoid squares and streets: perpetrators are on the run. Train and bus transport suspended. Turn radio and TV on. Munich’s mainline railway station is closed, and mass transit remains halted.” |
| The German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said Friday night: “We are following the news from Munich with horror. What is behind this hideous act is not completely clear, we still have conflicting leads. But already this much is clear, we will have to mourn for many fatalities and injured.” | |
| The police warned people to stay in their homes and to get off the street; the mall itself took several hours to evacuate. A square in central Munich, the Karlsplatz, also known as the Stachus, was evacuated after reports of gunfire, which appeared to be a false alarm. | The police warned people to stay in their homes and to get off the street; the mall itself took several hours to evacuate. A square in central Munich, the Karlsplatz, also known as the Stachus, was evacuated after reports of gunfire, which appeared to be a false alarm. |
| Train traffic to the main station in Munich was rerouted, according to a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn, the national railroad. Some suburban trains were continuing to operate, but were stopping before they reached the main station, said the spokesman, who asked not to be identified in accordance with company policy. | Train traffic to the main station in Munich was rerouted, according to a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn, the national railroad. Some suburban trains were continuing to operate, but were stopping before they reached the main station, said the spokesman, who asked not to be identified in accordance with company policy. |
| Passengers who landed at Munich Airport on Friday evening found themselves stranded on the curb outside. The taxi line stretched at least 40 people deep, and airport officials said that the highways leading into the city had either been closed or subjected to tight police checkpoints. | Passengers who landed at Munich Airport on Friday evening found themselves stranded on the curb outside. The taxi line stretched at least 40 people deep, and airport officials said that the highways leading into the city had either been closed or subjected to tight police checkpoints. |
| Manfred Reiter, a 47-year-old taxi driver, said that he had received a call from his company’s dispatcher telling him to avoid picking up customers from the street because the attackers were on the run and might try to flag a cab. “He said, ‘Manfred please go home it’s too dangerous,’ ” Mr. Reiter said. | Manfred Reiter, a 47-year-old taxi driver, said that he had received a call from his company’s dispatcher telling him to avoid picking up customers from the street because the attackers were on the run and might try to flag a cab. “He said, ‘Manfred please go home it’s too dangerous,’ ” Mr. Reiter said. |
| Bayerischer Rundfunk, the public broadcaster in Munich, reported that a witness had seen a gunman opening fire at the restaurant and then descending into the subway station under the mall. | Bayerischer Rundfunk, the public broadcaster in Munich, reported that a witness had seen a gunman opening fire at the restaurant and then descending into the subway station under the mall. |
| Television images showed armed police officers atop the shopping mall, trying to get the situation under control. On Twitter and on television, witnesses reported hearing sirens and police helicopters. | Television images showed armed police officers atop the shopping mall, trying to get the situation under control. On Twitter and on television, witnesses reported hearing sirens and police helicopters. |
| “The situation is still completely confusing,” Thomas Baumann, a deputy spokesman of the Munich police, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the German news agency. “It is not clear whether there is one or many shooters.” | “The situation is still completely confusing,” Thomas Baumann, a deputy spokesman of the Munich police, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the German news agency. “It is not clear whether there is one or many shooters.” |
| Miriam Arlt, who was in the area, said in an email interview that she was near the McDonald’s when the shooting occurred. | Miriam Arlt, who was in the area, said in an email interview that she was near the McDonald’s when the shooting occurred. |
| “I only saw fleeing people and now see police and a helicopter,” she said. | “I only saw fleeing people and now see police and a helicopter,” she said. |
| Her roommate — who asked to be identified only as Hendrik A. because he felt traumatized and fearful by what he had witnessed — said in a phone interview that he had been riding his bike toward the restaurant when he came upon the site of the attack. | |
| “I was over at the shopping center waiting for the light to get to McDonald’s,” he said. “I didn’t even realize the chaos or the panic that was around me. I came to a stop light and then I first realized that things were not normal. There were three bodies lying on the ground. And my first thought was ‘O.K., they’re just lying on the ground, nothing really happened.’ Two of them didn’t move, one did.” | |
| Then, he heard gunfire erupt behind him — “five to eight shots,” he estimated — coming from inside the shopping center. People started to run, he said. “It was not insane panic like you would imagine, a stampede or anything, but people were a little uneasy.” | |
| The police and security forces in Germany had already been on alert after a 17-year-old man wielding an ax on Monday attacked passengers on a train in Bavaria and then a woman walking her dog, before he was shot dead by the police. The teenager has been identified by the authorities as an Afghan who arrived in the country as a refugee last year, and who had been placed with a foster family. The attack injured four visitors from Hong Kong — a couple from Hong Kong, their daughter, and her boyfriend — and the woman with the dog. | The police and security forces in Germany had already been on alert after a 17-year-old man wielding an ax on Monday attacked passengers on a train in Bavaria and then a woman walking her dog, before he was shot dead by the police. The teenager has been identified by the authorities as an Afghan who arrived in the country as a refugee last year, and who had been placed with a foster family. The attack injured four visitors from Hong Kong — a couple from Hong Kong, their daughter, and her boyfriend — and the woman with the dog. |
| The Olympia Shopping Center, which opened in time for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, bills itself as the largest shopping center in Bavaria. | The Olympia Shopping Center, which opened in time for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, bills itself as the largest shopping center in Bavaria. |
| The 1972 Summer Olympics were marred by tragedy: Eight Palestinian militants invaded the Olympic Village, and killed two Israeli athletes, and then held nine other Israelis hostage as the terrorists attempted to bargain for the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The hostages, several of their captors and a policeman were killed in a failed rescue attempt. | The 1972 Summer Olympics were marred by tragedy: Eight Palestinian militants invaded the Olympic Village, and killed two Israeli athletes, and then held nine other Israelis hostage as the terrorists attempted to bargain for the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The hostages, several of their captors and a policeman were killed in a failed rescue attempt. |