Munich shopping mall shooting leaves 6 dead

At least six people have been killed in a shooting at a major shopping center in the southern German city of Munich.

According to the reports, the shooting took place at  a fast food restaurant at the Munich Olympia Shopping Center shortly before 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on Friday, Munich police spokesman Thomas Baumann said.

The Bavarian Interior Ministry has confirmed that at least 6 people have died and several others injured as a result of the shooting.

“There is a major police operation under way in the shopping center,” Munich police wrote on its official Twitter account, asking people to stay away from the area. Security forces have also closed off a wide area around the site.

Live streams showed emergency vehicles in streets outside the shopping center, with passers-by looking on.

"There are still people in the shopping center. We are trying to get the people out and take care of them," a police spokeswoman said.

“We believe this is a big incident,” a police spokeswoman told German media.

Officials say the city’s main railway station was evacuated public transport suspended following the deadly attack, in which three gunmen are involved, according to a police statement.

One of the attackers was earlier reported to be headed for a nearby underground station.

Gunshots were also heard near the mall on Hanauer and Ries streets.

Unconfirmed reports say there may be other gunmen involved in the attack.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has warned that the European country is likely to face more terror attacks.

"Like several EU countries, like the whole EU, Germany is also in the target area of international terrorism... the situation is serious," he said.

SS