Munich shooting: Nine killed by lone gunman

An 18-year-old man with dual German and Iranian citizenship killed nine people yesterday at a shopping centre in Munich before shooting himself dead. Another 16 people were injured.

German police have not yet released the gunman’s name, nor commented on what might have motivated the attack. They say he had lived in the city “for a long time” and had no criminal record.

“The attack is the third on civilians in western Europe in eight days,” says theBBC, “following the violence in Nice and Wuerzburg.”

However, US security officials told Reuters that German authorities had found no link between yesterday’s attacker and Islamic State or other militant groups. In video footage filmed during the attack, the gunman is heard shouting “I am German” and referring to “f***ing Turks”.

His shooting spree began just before 6pm local time (5pm BST), outside a branch of McDonald’s. After firing at people in the street, the gunman moved into the nearby Olympia shopping mall.