Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Munich gunman ‘obsessed’ with mass killings, had links to Breivik

-

The lone teenager who shot dead nine people in a gun rampage in Munich was "obsessed" with mass killers such as Norwegian rightwing fanatic Anders Behring Breivik and had no links to the Islamic State group, police said Saturday.

Europe reacted in shock to the third attack on the continent in just over a week, after the black-clad gunman went on a shooting spree at a shopping centre on Friday evening before turning the gun on himself.

"There is absolutely no link to the Islamic State," Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said.

He said the assault was a "classic act by a deranged person" and described an individual "obsessed" with mass shootings.

He said German investigators saw an "obvious link" between Friday's killings and Breivik's massacre of 77 people in a bomb attack in Oslo and a shooting rampage on the nearby island of Utoya exactly five years earlier.

Shooting in Munich
Shooting in Munich
Thomas SAINT-CRICQ, Laurence SAUBADU, AFP

Most of the victims in Friday's attack were foreigners.

Munich prosecutor Thomas Steinkraus-Koch said the 18-year-old German-Iranian student -- named as David Ali Sonboly -- had suffered depression, while media reports said he had undergone psychiatric treatment.

The teenager had 300 rounds in a rucksack when he targeted the busy Olympia shopping mall, just minutes away from the flat he shared with his family, according to authorities.

- Tributes for victims -

Grieving Munich residents laid roses and lit candles in memory of the victims, with one placard bearing the simple plea: "Why?"

"Bloodbath in Munich," was the headline on the best-selling Bild newspaper as Germany struggled to come to terms with the killings.

Among the nine killed were three Turks, three Kosovans and a Greek national, according to their foreign ministries.

Naim Zabergja speaks with journalists and holds a photo of his son Dijamant who was killed in the at...
Naim Zabergja speaks with journalists and holds a photo of his son Dijamant who was killed in the attack at the shopping centre in Munich, southern Germany, on July 23, 2016
Karl-Josef Hildenbrand, AFP

Most of the casualties were young people aged 15 to 21, with three women among the dead according to Munich police.

Sixteen people were wounded, three of them critically.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was to convene her security council on Saturday.

The attack sent Germany's third largest city into lockdown as police launched a massive operation to track down what had initially been thought to be up to three assailants.

An amateur video posted on social media appeared to show a man in black walking away from a McDonald's fast foot outlet in Munich while firing repeatedly with a handgun as people fled screaming.

A police patrol shot and wounded him but he managed to escape before police found the body of what they believed was the "only shooter."

- 'Never heard of problems' -

Sonboly is thought to be have been born in Germany to an Iranian father who worked as a taxi driver and a mother who worked at a department store.

Neighbour Delfye Dalbi, 40, described him as "a good person" who "helped, would share the newspapers".

"Not once did I see him angry. I never heard of him having problems with the police or other neighbours," she said.

Munich's main train station was evacuated and metro and bus transport in the city suspended for...
Munich's main train station was evacuated and metro and bus transport in the city suspended for several hours while residents were ordered to stay in their homes
, AFP

Survivors described terrifying scenes as shoppers rushed from the area, some carrying children in their arms.

"We entered McDonald's to eat... then there was panic, and people ran out," one woman told Bavarian television.

Another video appeared to show the gunman on a car park roof in a heated exchange with a man on a nearby balcony.

"I'm German, I was born here," the assailant replied after the man fired off a volley of swear words, including an insulting term for foreigners.

Munich's main train station was evacuated and metro and bus transport suspended for several hours while residents were ordered to stay inside, leaving the streets largely deserted.

- 'Europe stands united' -

President Joachim Gauck said he was horrified by the "murderous attack", while US President Barack Obama voiced staunch support for Washington's close ally.

"Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all German people. Europe stands united," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.

Europe has been on high alert for terrorism after a string of attacks in neighbouring France and Belgium claimed by IS.

The attack came just four days after a 17-year-old asylum seeker went on a rampage with an axe and a knife on a train near Wuerzburg, also in Bavaria, injuring five people.

Elite police launched a massive operation in Munich to track down what had initially been thought to...
Elite police launched a massive operation in Munich to track down what had initially been thought to be up to three assailants
, AFP

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere had said that assailant was believed to be a "lone wolf" who appeared to have been "inspired" by IS but was not a member of the jihadist network.

On July 14, 31-year-old Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel used a truck to mow down 84 people, including children, after a Bastille Day fireworks display in Nice, the third major attack on French soil in the past 18 months.

Friday's massacre spurred many in Munich to think the unthinkable.

"It has reached us. People in Munich have long had a queasy feeling. Fears grew with every attack in Paris, Istanbul or Brussels," said the Abendzeitung newspaper's editor-in-chief Michael Schilling.

"There were particular concerns about the Oktoberfest. But since Friday it is clear that there can be no security anywhere, not even in the safest German city."

The train attack had already triggered calls by some politicians to impose an upper limit on the number of refugees coming into Germany, which accepted a record 1.1 million migrants and refugees last year, many through Bavaria.

The lone teenager who shot dead nine people in a gun rampage in Munich was “obsessed” with mass killers such as Norwegian rightwing fanatic Anders Behring Breivik and had no links to the Islamic State group, police said Saturday.

Europe reacted in shock to the third attack on the continent in just over a week, after the black-clad gunman went on a shooting spree at a shopping centre on Friday evening before turning the gun on himself.

“There is absolutely no link to the Islamic State,” Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said.

He said the assault was a “classic act by a deranged person” and described an individual “obsessed” with mass shootings.

He said German investigators saw an “obvious link” between Friday’s killings and Breivik’s massacre of 77 people in a bomb attack in Oslo and a shooting rampage on the nearby island of Utoya exactly five years earlier.

Shooting in Munich

Shooting in Munich
Thomas SAINT-CRICQ, Laurence SAUBADU, AFP

Most of the victims in Friday’s attack were foreigners.

Munich prosecutor Thomas Steinkraus-Koch said the 18-year-old German-Iranian student — named as David Ali Sonboly — had suffered depression, while media reports said he had undergone psychiatric treatment.

The teenager had 300 rounds in a rucksack when he targeted the busy Olympia shopping mall, just minutes away from the flat he shared with his family, according to authorities.

– Tributes for victims –

Grieving Munich residents laid roses and lit candles in memory of the victims, with one placard bearing the simple plea: “Why?”

“Bloodbath in Munich,” was the headline on the best-selling Bild newspaper as Germany struggled to come to terms with the killings.

Among the nine killed were three Turks, three Kosovans and a Greek national, according to their foreign ministries.

Naim Zabergja speaks with journalists and holds a photo of his son Dijamant who was killed in the at...

Naim Zabergja speaks with journalists and holds a photo of his son Dijamant who was killed in the attack at the shopping centre in Munich, southern Germany, on July 23, 2016
Karl-Josef Hildenbrand, AFP

Most of the casualties were young people aged 15 to 21, with three women among the dead according to Munich police.

Sixteen people were wounded, three of them critically.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was to convene her security council on Saturday.

The attack sent Germany’s third largest city into lockdown as police launched a massive operation to track down what had initially been thought to be up to three assailants.

An amateur video posted on social media appeared to show a man in black walking away from a McDonald’s fast foot outlet in Munich while firing repeatedly with a handgun as people fled screaming.

A police patrol shot and wounded him but he managed to escape before police found the body of what they believed was the “only shooter.”

– ‘Never heard of problems’ –

Sonboly is thought to be have been born in Germany to an Iranian father who worked as a taxi driver and a mother who worked at a department store.

Neighbour Delfye Dalbi, 40, described him as “a good person” who “helped, would share the newspapers”.

“Not once did I see him angry. I never heard of him having problems with the police or other neighbours,” she said.

Munich's main train station was evacuated and metro and bus transport in the city suspended for...

Munich's main train station was evacuated and metro and bus transport in the city suspended for several hours while residents were ordered to stay in their homes
, AFP

Survivors described terrifying scenes as shoppers rushed from the area, some carrying children in their arms.

“We entered McDonald’s to eat… then there was panic, and people ran out,” one woman told Bavarian television.

Another video appeared to show the gunman on a car park roof in a heated exchange with a man on a nearby balcony.

“I’m German, I was born here,” the assailant replied after the man fired off a volley of swear words, including an insulting term for foreigners.

Munich’s main train station was evacuated and metro and bus transport suspended for several hours while residents were ordered to stay inside, leaving the streets largely deserted.

– ‘Europe stands united’ –

President Joachim Gauck said he was horrified by the “murderous attack”, while US President Barack Obama voiced staunch support for Washington’s close ally.

“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all German people. Europe stands united,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.

Europe has been on high alert for terrorism after a string of attacks in neighbouring France and Belgium claimed by IS.

The attack came just four days after a 17-year-old asylum seeker went on a rampage with an axe and a knife on a train near Wuerzburg, also in Bavaria, injuring five people.

Elite police launched a massive operation in Munich to track down what had initially been thought to...

Elite police launched a massive operation in Munich to track down what had initially been thought to be up to three assailants
, AFP

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere had said that assailant was believed to be a “lone wolf” who appeared to have been “inspired” by IS but was not a member of the jihadist network.

On July 14, 31-year-old Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel used a truck to mow down 84 people, including children, after a Bastille Day fireworks display in Nice, the third major attack on French soil in the past 18 months.

Friday’s massacre spurred many in Munich to think the unthinkable.

“It has reached us. People in Munich have long had a queasy feeling. Fears grew with every attack in Paris, Istanbul or Brussels,” said the Abendzeitung newspaper’s editor-in-chief Michael Schilling.

“There were particular concerns about the Oktoberfest. But since Friday it is clear that there can be no security anywhere, not even in the safest German city.”

The train attack had already triggered calls by some politicians to impose an upper limit on the number of refugees coming into Germany, which accepted a record 1.1 million migrants and refugees last year, many through Bavaria.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

Social Media

Wanna buy some ignorance? You’re in luck.

Tech & Science

Under new legislation that passed the House of Representatives last week, TikTok could be banned in the United States.

Life

Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest often suggest travel destinations based on your likes and viewing habits.

Social Media

From vampires and wendigos to killer asteroids, TikTok users are pumping out outlandish end-of-the-world conspiracy theories.