German police say the 18-year-old Munich native who shot dead nine people in the city on Friday before killing himself had psychological problems and no apparent links to Islamist terror groups.
Investigators say they are dealing with a “classic killing spree” that caused mass panic in Munich and injured 27, 10 of whom are in a critical condition.
At a press conference, police declined to comment in detail on claims he set up a Facebook profile promising people free snacks if they showed up at a fast food restaurant adjacent to Munich's Olympia Shopping Centre, north of the city centre, at 4pm on Friday.
Investigators said they viewed as significant the fact the shooting took place on the fifth anniversary of the 2011 killing spree in Norway, when gunman Anders Breivik killed 77 people.
German chancellor Angela Merkel convened an emergency meeting of her security cabinet on Saturday.
She said she was mourning those killed in the shooting, vowing that the security services would do everything to ensure the public was safe.
“We are all – and I’m saying this on behalf of the whole federal government – mourning with a heavy heart for those who will never return to their families.
“To the families, the parents and children for whom everything today seems empty and pointless, I say personally and in the name of many, many people in Germany: we share your pain, we’re thinking of you and we’re suffering with you.”
First results of a postmortem on the Munich gunman, named locally as Ali Sonboly, found he died from one shot to his head from his own pistol – a 9mm Glock with the serial number filed off. In his backpack: 300 rounds of ammunition.
“Everything points to a classic killing spree with no links to IS ... We assume it is a suicide, that he killed himself,” said Munich police chief Hubertus Andrä, saying the perpetrator had no serious police record. “This is the worst day in my 40 years service, the events of last night make us sad and speechless.”
The perpetrator came from a German-Iranian family, was receiving treatment for depression and, apart from two minor public order offences, had no serious police record. Toxicology tests are ongoing to see if he was taking medication or under the influence of drugs during the shooting spree.
Of the nine dead at the Olympia Shopping Centre, north of Munich city centre, seven of the victims were aged 20 or younger.
Three Turkish citizens were among those killed, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Saturday.
In an interview with local television station NTV, Mevlut Cavusoglu identified the Turkish victims of the attack as two teenagers and a woman.
Police raided the gunman’s home in the Maxvorstadt district early on Saturday morning and, in his bedroom, found books about shooting sprees in schools.
“That he was obsessed with shooting sprees and that yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the Breivik shooting spree, a link seems to be obvious,” said Mr Andrä. The young man had no gun permit and the man’s parents and brother were too shocked to be questioned yet. Neighbours of the man’s family described him as a quiet individual.
"He lived next door to me but I only saw him every so often," said a neighbour to the Bild tabloid. "A friend of mine was his schoolmate and said he was the quiet type. He recognised him in the videos."
Schoolmates told the Bild the perpetrator had been bullied in school and was obsessed with online shooting games.
Hours of confusion
The gunman caused hours of confusion and fear after opening fire at 5.52pm local time at a fast food restaurant adjacent to the Olympia Shopping Centre.
Police confirmed at 6.35pm that they were involved in a major operation at the centre and, given the “acute terror situation”, urged people via social media to avoid the area.
Investigators said the shooting spree caused a mass panic via social media, with 4,310 phone calls received in a few hours – four days’ worth on a normal day.
“We got tips from the whole city that there had been shots there, that’s why we decided to all but close down the public transport network,” said Mr Andrä. “Such tips are extra work for us, we have to follow them all up.”
Amateur videos emerged shortly after the alarm went out, appearing to show the first moments of the shooting and, later, a confrontation between the gunman on the roof of the centre and a neighbour. Police said they were examining the video material and questioning those who filed the scenes.
Eyewitnesses evacuated from the shopping centre said at first they had seen three gunmen with automatic weapons, but police put this down to the general confusion and the arrival of the first armed police in civilian dress.
One 53-year-old woman, Marion Petrof, was buying a present in the shopping centre when the saleswoman ran out of the shop.
“All of a sudden I was alone in the shop, then I heard several shots, one after another and knew it was an attack,” she told Munich’s Abendzeitung. “I just thought: get away, away, away! When I realised what luck I had, i just cried.”
Another Munich resident, Rudolf Liehr, said his wife phoned him from inside the shopping centre around 6pm.
“She was very emotional and shocked, the shots zipped by her, people ran away,” he said.
Christine Rapp, who lives adjacent to the OEZ centre, rushed into the centre to help at the first sign of alarm, helping out a woman in a wheelchair.
Before a clothes store she saw her first body, covered in a golden foil.
“The person was very young, I couldn’t do anything more, the first help was there,” she said, seeing two more bodies as she left. “Now I think I have to cry.”
An hour after the shopping centre shootings, police received reports of shootings at other parts of the city. All were revealed later as false alarms.
Two hours after the shooting began, police said they did not know where the perpetrator was and began a search of the sprawling shopping complex with 135 shops.
The shooting is the worst violence seen in the city since the 1972 Olympics, when Palestinian gunmen took Israeli athletes hostage.
Deserted
Munich city centre, normally a bustling tourist hub on a warm July evening, was deserted last night as pubs and beer gardens closed.
“It is terrible and simply unimaginable what has happened in Munich,” said Thomas de Maizère, federal interior minister.
German president Joachim Gauck said the "murderous attack in Munich shocks me deeply". Messages of support soon arrived from leaders around the world. US president Barack Obama offered his full support, while French president François Hollande announced a "personal message of support" to Dr Merkel.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: “We stand with chancellor Merkel and the German people.”
President Michael D Higgins asked the German ambassador to Ireland Matthias Höpfner, to convey his sympathies and those of the Irish people to the people of Germany.
“The taking of innocent lives in a peaceful European city affects all Europeans, including the Irish people, and as fellow Europeans committed to peace, we must not let this attack undermine the way of life of those who value democracy,” he said.
Via social media, Munich residents offered a bed for the night to people who were unable to get home because of the lockdown.
On Saturday morning, with public transport getting back to normal, Munich mayor Dieter Reiter said he was shocked by the events of Friday night but “impressed by the huge readiness to help . . . our city stands together.
“The police had a very good deployment, we were active in a short time with a large number of police,” said Joachim Hermann, Bavaria’s interior minister. “In such a dangerous situation it’s better to have a strong presence to ensure security. Now we have to work through the background of the events.”
