At least 9 dead, 21 injured after gunman opens fire at Germany mall

MUNICH, GERMANY (KUSI) — Friday 6:45 p.m. — Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae told reporters early Saturday that nine people were killed Friday.

According to CNN, the shooter — believed to be an 18-year-old male with both German and Iranian citizenship — took his own life after the incident, that also injured 21 people, at least three seriously.

Originally, law enforcement officials were searching for three suspects, but two men seen leaving the area were stopped, but released after questioning.

The motive for the shooting remains unclear.

3:00 p.m. — At least eight people were killed Friday after a gunman opened fire at shopping mall in Munich, Germany.

According to CNN, police officials believe at least three attackers were loose in the city. Streets were placed on lockdown and residents were urged to stay indoors, away from the center of town.

This is what officials know about the deadly situation, according to CNN:

• The shooting began at a McDonald’s across from the Olympia shopping mall. Police spokeswoman Claudia Küntzel said witnesses reported gunfire at several locations and at least three armed individuals.
• "The manhunt is underway at high speed," police said. "Because of the unclear situation we ask all people in the city area to stay at home or to look for protection in any nearby building. The operation of public transportation service has been stopped."
• Police officials asked witnesses to not share any images of the shooting on social media, but to instead submit any information or photos to the police department website.

During a press conference in Germany, officials said that nine bodies were discovered in and around the mall. Police were working to identify the bodies and determine if any of them were the shooters.

According to CNN, a witnesses was at the McDonald’s when the shooting began. Lauretta said her son was in the bathroom when the shooter came in and began loading his weapon.

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"That’s where he loaded his weapon," she said. "I hear like an alarm and boom, boom, boom … And he’s still killing the children. The children were sitting to eat. They can’t run." Lauretta said she heard the gunman say, "Allahu Akbar," or God is great. "I know this because I’m Muslim. I hear this and I only cry."

This is an ongoing investigation and the story will be updated as information becomes available.