Munich police have announced a ‘cautious all-clear’ after an hours-long manhunt which culminated in the discovery of the suspected gunman’s body. The shooter is believed to have acted alone and with no clear motives in a rampage that claimed nine lives.
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“We found a man, who killed him himself. We assume, that he was the only shooter,” Munich police department said.
The perpetrator has been identified “within the framework of Interpol,” police said in a series of tweets in German. Law enforcement believes “with high” probability that the gunman acted alone.
Police said the shooter was an 18-year-old German-Iranian who lived in the country for over two years and whose motives “are still unclear.”
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At a press conference, police chief Hubertus Andrae admitted that conflicting witness testimonies made authorities believe that there were three killers at large, but that information has not been confirmed.
Police also announced that the shooting rampage that started at the Olympia shopping center and the adjoining McDonald's left 10 people dead, including one person who died in a hospital and the shooter himself, who has not yet been named.
Youths were among the nine victims of the attack, Andrae added. The chief also announced that 16 more people had been injured in the rampage, including children. Three of the wounded have a life-threatening condition.
Initial reports led police to believe that up to three gunmen were on the lose as security forces deployed all means possible to track the attackers. As the manhunt continued, police found the body of a man that they believed was of the shooter who committed suicide.
Explosives experts from Munich police went on to examine a backpack found on the dead man who resembled the gunman seen on several videos shared online. The body of the man was found about one kilometer (0.6 miles) away from the mall where the shootings took place. A special bomb robot reportedly aided in examining the suspect’s body.
Police, according to Focus Online, also secured a vehicle they believe belonged to the dead gunman. Citing a police source, the publication reported that a “dark gray medium-sized car” had been taken away on a tow truck.
After an intense hours-long manhunt during which special police teams were called in from all of Germany, the all-clear was given for Munich city center and public transport operations to restart shortly after 1:00am local time.