Munich shooting: At least 8 dead; police operation underway

At least eight people were killed Friday when gunfire erupted at a shopping center in Munich, Germany, in what a police officials said “looks like a terror attack.”
At least three attackers were on the loose as the city was under a virtual lockdown, with residents being urged to stay home, restaurants and other business closing and public transit shutting down.

Here’s what we know so far:
• Shooting broke out at a McDonald’s across from the Olympia shopping mall around 5:50 p.m. (11:50 a.m. ET), police spokeswoman Claudia Küntzel said. Gunfire also broke out inside the mall, which is adjacent to the site of the 1972 Olympics, witnesses said.
• On Facebook, police said gunfire was reported in several locations, and that witnesses report seeing three people with firearms.
• “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.”
• The Olympia mall, located in a middle-class neighborhood in northern Munich, is the city’s biggest shopping center. It’s located near a large BMW factory and is a popular destination for shoppers on Friday nights, German lawmaker Charles Huber told CNN. It’s also near a major transit hub.
• A witness who will only be identified as Lauretta told CNN her son was in a bathroom with a shooter at the McDonald’s. “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 ear. 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.”

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