Munich shopping centre evacuated after shooting
Major police operation under way in city where officials have been on alert after axe attack on train passengers earlier in week
People flee Munich shopping centre amid gunshots
Kate Connolly in Berlin
Friday 22 July 2016 18.15 BSTLast modified on Friday 22 July 2016 18.31 BST
German police have evacuated a shopping centre in Munich after an armed man went on a shooting spree in the building, police have said.
Several people were injured and there were unconfirmed reports of deaths, local media said.
An emergency call was received at 6pm local time after the man opened fire in a pharmacy at the Olympia shopping centre in the Moosach district of the Bavarian city.
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Satellite view of the Olympia einkaufszentrum (shopping centre) and nearby U-Bahn station. Photograph: Google Maps
“We believe this is a big incident,” a police spokeswoman told German media.
Police and ambulance crews were on site within minutes of the call. The man is believed to have fled the shopping centre and headed for a nearby U-Bahn (underground) station.
There was no indication as to the motive for the attack.
Germany has been on high alert after a man wielding an axe and knife attacked train passengers near the southern city of Würzburg earlier this week.
The Olympia shopping centre is a two-tiered glass-covered mall that was built on the site of the 1972 Olympics. The Munich Games were overshadowed by a terrorist attack in which 11 Israeli sportsmen and a German policeman were killed after being taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists.
More details soon …
Munich shopping centre evacuated after shooting