22/07/2016 World News Today

You are watching continuing coverage here. There is a developing

situation in Munich in southern Germany where at around 430 GMT,

there was an incident at a shopping centre called the Olympia shopping

centre in the north-west of Munich and people reported that there was a

shooting. Police are saying that they believe they could be looking

for more than one gunmen and at the moment that person is at large and

the don't know where the person is. There were also reports and some of

them are at odds with each other suggesting that an assailant had

managed to escape from the shopping centre and get down underground,

into the subway. And as a consequence, the transit system has

been shut down to try to see whether they can locate the person or people

responsible. Various reports from different local broadcasters, being

quoted by the international news agencies, suggesting that there are

multiple casualties. Whether that means that they are the talent he

the moment it is not clear. -- the talent he is. If local broadcaster

has been quoted saying that the interior ministry has confirmed

there are three people who have died. But this is rather at arms

length at the moment so we are not able to verify that at the moment.

We have seen and I'm terrified video shot on a phone outside McDonald's

restaurant -- and I'm terrified video. It shows a man appearing to

take aim at people outside the McDonald's. The British Foreign

Office is investigating whether any British people are involved in the

incident and a spokesman said we are urgently investigating an incident

in Munich and stand ready to provide assistance. But the number of

casualties we are hearing has buried. -- varied. As many as 15

fatalities being talked about by one source. Another source saying it was

three. We are hearing rumours, unconfirmed as yet, of other

locations or another location in Munich, been the scene of a

shooting. That is unconfirmed but one journalist locally that we spoke

to a short while ago said the attacker travelled by underground

into the centre of Munich to a very popular to wrist destination, and

carried or continued and attack them. That is one journalist telling

us this. Nothing confirmed so far but police say they have not managed

to capture an attacker or attackers. One man who works at a nearby petrol

station has described what he saw. We saw ambulances, like, firemen and

police. But all this area, all the streets now... There are no cars.

All the streets are blocked. The people are scared.

Everyone is running around. That was an eyewitness from close to the

Olympia shopping centre, who described what he had been able to

see. Are corresponded to is following the story for us is here.

What are the latest developments? The latest information is from the

Munich police who said on Twitter within the last few minutes that the

whereabouts of the offender or offenders is unknown. So that

confirms these reports that there is at least one gunmen at loose in the

city. There are these unconfirmed reports of other incidences around

the city but certainly it is a situation that is not under control.

I have been able to have a close look at that video you have been

showing. Unverified as yet. A gunmen outside McDonald's. If you look at

it very closely, as I have done, you can see it is a man who walks up

very slowly and calmly, apparently, places himself outside McDonald's,

and then start shooting. And you hear a number of shots fired. He

appears to have a handgun in his left hand. He appears to have a long

barrelled gun of some sort in his other hand. She is dressed in black,

he has a black T-shirt with a logo of some sort on it. Which is

indecipherable. His ethnicity, you can't say. It appears to be one

gunmen. You mentioned those pictures and I

think we can watch and listen to them now.

That is some other footage as well. I think we can look and see if we

can bring you those that and he was talking about. Was it clear what you

were watching? Which direction he was shooting in? Into the McDonald's

store or away? Was it clear? He was outside the

McDonald's store. He stood outside the main entrance, facing outwards.

There were people just milling about in the the solidity, and it appears

he starts shooting away from the shopping mall. I've seen other

images of people inside them all heaving the shooting and taking

cover. But the shooting itself appears to be in the open air

outside the shopping mall. You might not notice, but Munich

police have a Facebook page and they're saying eyewitnesses have

told them there were three people who were armed with weapons,

firearms of some sort, and eyewitnesses are reporting that two

police. They are saying there was a shooting which then moved into

another area and the shopping centre, so it seems that these

Google were on the move, as you might expect. -- these people were

on the move. Let's look at these pictures you were talking about.

So it seems that the person who was filming this on a mobile phone had

spotted this person because they were dressed head to toe in black.

That's right. The interesting thing is you hear no shouts, no sound

before the firing starts. We know that sometimes on these occasions,

if it is an attack linked to Islamic terrorists, you hear shouts, but on

this occasion, as far as we can see and hear from that video, no

warning, nothing is said before that gunmen just opens fire. It seems

indiscriminately on people around him.

Yes, and at the moment we don't know exactly how many people we are given

with. The suggestion is that it is three. We don't know anything about

the motive of this person is born in Germany, we don't know any of those

details at the moment. What are you hearing about casualties?

There have been varied reports. Initially we heard from police

sources that there was one confirms death. And up to ten casualties. We

have since heard from various German media sources saying that they could

be up to the Dean deaths. I think the latest we have on the record is

that there are multiple casualties -- 15 deaths. Quite possibly

multiple deaths. The other interesting thing is, I am no

firearms expert, but it seems to be discreet, individual shots. It is

not the rattle of what you and I would know as a machine gun. It

seems to be a lot of shots but individual shots.

For the moment, thank you very much. Let's talk to a bar, who is in a

restaurant. -- lets talk to our correspondent.

What is happening there. Can you hear me?

I am afraid we have not got contact with her. Let's try to talk to a

freelance reporter at the scene in Munich.

Can you hear us? What is happening where you are?

I'm just in front of the Olympia shopping centre and it is the

closest place I can get. In front of the police. The police close all the

roads and it is deserted. In front of me there is a group of

inhabitants or shoppers, very quietly what going on. A great

number of police cars. I can hear the helicopters are bit far-away. At

the moment it is very, very calm. It is extraordinary that you say it

was calm. Housing did you get there after you became aware of what was

going on? -- how soon did you get there? I was

cycling here and most of the people were moving in the opposite

direction. So I was trying to get as close as possible. All the main

roads are closed. I went through some courtyards, as close as

possible. But finally I was in front of the entrance of the underground.

Where I am standing I can see from far-away. I can see searching cars

in front of the main entrance of the Olympia shopping centre.

As far as you know? Are there many people inside and locked down or has

everybody been moved? Well, it is difficult to judge, for

me to know. Because I am just an the spot. I'm not hearing the local

media but at the point I was leaving my place, the media advised

everybody to just get home. And leave the streets. Apparently also

the Metro stations are closing and so everything is deserted and empty.

Are you getting any reports where you are about any other incidences

in other parts of the city? Well, I was listening to the radio

and they had been talking about incidences in the main shopping area

of the city but apparently it was not confirmed.

It may be just wrong. And at the moment, we're hearing that please

still cannot say for sure if there is one or more attackers involved

but they suspect there are more than one cars of what eyewitnesses have

been saying. Apparently, it is very difficult to

judge from here. I'm on the street in a deserted calm place.

Tell us a bout the feeling in Germany. Has there been a heightened

sense of security, fear of a kind of attack like this because of what

they've seen in France and Belgium? Also what we saw earlier this week a

train? Exactly. I happened to be there but

earlier. It is a cute little city. My feeling is that the people are

getting more and more aware about the danger that might come to

Germany as well. Because we have been observing a bit from far-away

and now it is just moving closer. And obviously Munich used to be the

centre of the refugees coming last year, last summer here in thousands

and thousands. The inhabitants used to be very, very friendly and

helping a lot. Just going to the main station at helping people with

food and clothes but now, I am starting to get the feeling that the

people are less and less friendly to the Muslims. Obviously, women

dressed in traditional clothing. I think it is palpable how the mood is

changing. You are saying people are becoming

more fearful? We don't have anything at this stage about you is behind

this attack, what their motives are and who they are. But in terms of

security in a shopping centre like Olympia, is the Renault thing to

stop people going in with a firearm? Is there any kind of screening or

visit a relaxed western shopping centre like you would find in

London? This is a very relaxed shopping

centre. It is in the middle of Olympic village, the same as Olympic

Games in Munich. It used to be the housing of the Sportsman in the

1970s, I think. So it is a residential, quiet area. And

everywhere in Munich is very calm and relaxed, it is a very safe city.

A great presence of police. The city is famous as being a strong police

city. Right at the Olympia shopping

centre. Thank you very much for talking to us.

Just a few more lines to you and we'll recap on what has been

happening this evening in Munich. The city's police forces are saying

on social media that the suspects are still on the run and that people

should please Boyd public places. -- avoid public places. They're using

emergency services with the support of special forces. The federal

police and neighbouring councils as well. And a little while ago we were

just saying that the Bavarian Interior Ministry are quoted as

saying there were three casualties, three fatalities. They have now said

that the local reports are not true. We did heavily wrapped those up with

a note of caution. Our correspondence Richard has the

latest now on the event so far in Munich.

This and verified video apparently shows the moment a group of people

ran into a gunmen on the streets of Munich. Around the shopping centre,

there was panic as people tried to find their way to safety. Many armed

police officers including special forces were soon on the scene. But

from the roof of the car park, a gunmen carries on firing. The

emergency services poured into the area, telling people to get off the

streets and go home. The Metro has been closed down.

We see just ambulances, like, firemen and police. But all this

area is evacuated, all the streets, now, are... There are no cars. The

streets are blocked. The people are scared. Everyone is running around.

The police believe they are dealing with a shooting rampage and there

may be more than one gunmen involved. So far, no one has been

detained. There are reports of many casualties.

Still so many things that we don't know for sure what the police have

said. That report by Richard is that the suspects or suspect are still on

the run. Please avoid public places. That's part of it is still very much

an ongoing operation but in terms of casualties, that number, we've seen

many different sources quoting police, varying the figures, but we

know there have been fatalities, not completely confirmed just how many

people have been caught up in this. Let's stop to Damien beginners who

is in Berlin. What do you know for sure?

What we're hearing now in Germany is that there are three deaths, three

fatalities, according to officials in Germany. And it seems that

according to various sources now that there were a couple of people

involved in the attacks. But of course the situation is still very

fluid so the numbers have varied wildly between one and 16 so far.

This is the first concrete, official number that seems to have so far

come out from an official Government source. So, that should certainly be

taken seriously, but there is still a lot of confusion in Munich itself

because, as the area effectively shutdown, all public transport

within Munich or within the Centre has been effectively stopped. With

the underground is closed and with buses grounding to Horton passengers

told to get out and walk home, effectively. Police have issued

warnings for local residents to stay at home. And to get off the streets.

So, obviously, these are taking it extremely seriously indeed. --

police are taking it. There are reports that one of the perpetrators

shot wildly in a cafe or they can read and then fled the scene. And

some people said the perpetrator has not been caught. The question is, is

there a gunmen on the loose? Munich police say they suspect this

is a terrorist attack? Yes, and that is the big fear, of

course. What we have seen on Monday was an asylum seeker who attacked

five people or seriously injured five people and attacks more than

that in a train. It was a brutal attack with an axe and a knife and

it turned out that he in fact was an Islamist extremist who had links to

so-called Islamic State. And that has been the worry, that attacks are

caused by Islamist extremists rather than lone wolves of random people

who might be in some way disturbed. And that is the fear in this

particular case as well because, as you know across Europe, we have had

various Islamist extreme as attacks. Very varied in nature with very

little in common. Numerous attacks in France in the past year and that

is now the worry in Germany that this is starting to happen here

because for a long time now people have been very nervous that a

similar sort of attack such as the ones we have been seeing in France

will happen in Germany. We saw it on Monday on a lower level, if you

like. And that is the worry now, that if this turns out to be an

Islamist excuse attack, then that would seriously rattle people here

in Germany. This choice of target. A shopping

centre, Friday afternoon, really busy. No real defences security

specifically to stop something like this. Really, one of the softest

kinds of targets. Yes, that is right. I do think that

is the whole worry about all these individual attacks, because they are

also different in nature. We saw it in Nice, and that was a completely

different sort of attack. We saw the train attack on Monday. Here in

Bavaria as well, not far from Munich. And it seems that a lot of

these attacks are the ones that seem impossible to predict and impossible

to prevent and officials here and in Britain have said there is only so

much security you can provide because the problem is that if the

attacker is someone operating on their own, then it is really hard to

know how you can prevent that. With the attacker who launched that

attack on the train, in Bavaria on Monday, the problem there was he was

completely unknown by the authorities. The have not committed

any crime before. The authorities had no connections with them and the

police had not had any reason to suspect that he might have links to

so-called Islamic State and that is the issue, really. That there are so

many cases where these attackers are just not known to the police

already. And in that case it is almost impossible to predict or

prevent. For the moment, thank you very much.

A short time ago a police report of Bavarian radio in Munich explained

what was happening at the scene when she arrived.

Unfortunately we could not get very close to the shopping centre as

everything has totally closed down. We tried to get there. We had that

there were people screaming, running out of the shopping centre because

there was one or the police now told us there are apparently more than

one person involved. And there was a shooting right at the shopping

centre and abortion the, we could not get very close. -- and

unfortunately, we could not get very close.

What sort of police presence did you see?

The strongest one can imagine. In the case as this one, where there

has been a shooting at a really large shopping centre and maybe as

well at other places in Munich, we're not sure about that as there

is no official report. As you can imagine, all the police forces and

special forces, helicopters, or the police forces are at the shopping

centre and in Munich and the official places as well. And they

are calling out that no one is allowed to go to the official places

they're trying to close everything down because they do not know

whether those present that in doing the shooting is the moment.

We're just hearing via the news agency, they are quoting German TV,

saying that the Bavarian into rear Ministry has confirmed that three

people died. -- Interior Ministry. This is coming to us for pound but

that is the suggestion here from the Bavarian interior ministry that

there have been three fatalities. When you were at the scene, how many

people were around? We understand they are still trying to evacuate

the centre. As I already said I'm not at the

scene directly because it is closed down. There is nobody allowed to get

into the shopping centre, and the people out. So I cannot tell you how

many people there are and how many casualties exactly thereof. As you

said, three people have been killed. Yes, of course. It is very early

days and these reports could turn out to be incorrect. But did you see

members of the public trying to leave the centre?

Yes. A lot of them, actually. They were streaming out into the streets,

standing in the two groups, trying to call their loved ones. Everybody

is making sure they're getting out as quickly as possible. We had a

colleague who was in the shopping centre and she called us immediately

as she got out. She only heard shooting, she had the police calling

that everybody had to leave the building. Apparently there was a lot

of screaming and people running around but most of the people should

be evacuated by now but as we cannot get in and cannot get close to the

scene we're not sure right now. Munich police are now saying that

they suspect that they are announced seeing a terror attack unfolding in

Munich. but there will be some rain

tomorrow, particularly across north-western parts of the UK. That