An 18-year-old German-Iranian national has opened fire in Munich’s Olympia mall, killing nine and injuring 16 others before shooting himself dead. Armed with a handgun, the attacker had opened fire at a nearby McDonalds restaurant, before carrying out the rampage in Olympia Mall. The motive behind the attack is yet to be ascertained.

The Indian Embassy in Germany tweeted saying that all Indians in Munich are safe and they could reach out to the consulate in case of ‘any difficulty’. No Indian casualty has been reported from the Munich shooting where a lone gunman has killed at least nine people and later shot himself. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had spoken to Indian Ambassador in Germany and confirmed that no Indian has been harmed in the attack.

The shooter opened fire near a fast-food restaurant and then again at the nearby Olympia shopping center in the north of the Bavarian capital, just before 6 p.m. local time (1600 UTC). Police at one point engaged and shot at him, only for him to escape. They later found him dead, killed by a self-inflicted gunshot.

Munich police chief Hubertus Andra described the operation as "without doubt my most difficult day" in the role. "Three youngsters" were among the dead, Andra said, while children were also among the injured.

"The motive, and the background of the crime are still totally unclear, the investigators are working full tilt and will continue into the night," Andrä said, adding that the process should move relatively quickly, as police were confident that they had identified the suspect. Defining whether the shooting was a case of somebody running amok, or an act of terror, would require more information on a possible motive, he said.

Initially, police had worked on the assumption of "up to three" shooters; Andrä said that eyewitness reports forced police to presume that more than one person was involved. Two people had left the scene at speed in a car, prompting suspicion, but police investigated them: "They have nothing to do with the incident," police chief Andrä said.

French President Francois Hollande called the shooting a "terrorist attack" and a "disgusting act that aims to foment fear in other European countries."

"Solidarity with Germany in the challenge they are facing at the moment," wrote French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

By Premji