Public transport suspended in Munich as gunmen kill 5

Munich’s main train station has been evacuated and metro and bus transport in the city suspended on police orders.

The decision followed the killing of at least five persons by gunmen, who attacked a shopping centre in the city.

Three gunmen were involved in the shooting, according to a police statement, citing witnesses.

“We suspect terrorism,” a Munich police spokesman told AFP.

The shooting spree began before 1600 GMT at a McDonald’s restaurant and continued on a nearby street before the gunmen moved into the OEZ shopping centre, a police spokeswoman said.

Europe has been on alert for terrorism in the wake of a string of attacks including bombings in neighbouring France and Belgium.

The OEZ shopping centre, which opened in the 1970s near the city’s Olympic stadium, was surrounded by armed police and emergency vehicles, while a helicopter buzzed overhead.

“There is a major police operation under way in the shopping centre,” Munich police said on Twitter, urging people to avoid the area.

Emergency vehicles were seen in the streets outside, as shoppers rushed away from the mall, some carrying children in their arms.

“Attention — avoid the neighbourhood around the OEZ. Stay in your homes. Leave the street,” the Munich police tweet said.

Germany has so far escaped the kind of large-scale jihadist attacks seen in France.

But the shooting comes just days after a teenage asylum seeker went on a rampage with an axe and a knife on a regional train near Wuerzburg, also in Bavaria on Monday, injuring five people, two of them critically.

One victim is still fighting for his life, the hospital treating him said Friday.