Suspect who committed suicide after assault at shopping center is identified as 18-year-old German-Iranian from Munich

Munich: A gunman went on a rampage Friday in a busy shopping area of Munich, killing nine people and wounding 21 others in an act of "suspected terrorism" before he committed suicide, police said early Saturday.

In the third attack on civilians in Europe in eight days, Germany’s third largest city went into lockdown after the teenager opened fire on diners in a McDonald’s restaurant before moving to a nearby shopping mall.

Authorities said the attacker had acted alone despite early reports of multiple shooters. His motive was “completely unclear”, Munich police Chief Hubertus Andrae said, and it was too early to say whether it was a terrorist attack. There was no immediate evidence of an Islamist motive.

German officials said investigators were looking into the possibility that Friday's attack was motivated by anti-immigrant sentiments, as well as the prospect that Islamist extremism was behind it.

There were no immediate details about the victims of Friday's attack on Munich's Olympia shopping complex. Munich's police chief, Hubertus Andra, said 10 people were killed in total, including the shooter, who committed suicide about half a mile away from the mall. Sixteen of the 21 wounded were still being treated early Saturday at hospitals, police said.

About 50 people of various ethnic backgrounds gathered at a Munich sports hall early Saturday to await official word on the fate of missing loved ones.

Much of the city was placed on lockdown for hours as police conducted the manhunt. Despite initial reports of multiple attack sites, police could not confirm attacks in any other locations besides the shopping area. They initially thought as many as three assailants were involved, but later said two people who had been spotted speeding away from the crime scene were not connected to the bloodshed.

As the manhunt was launched, helicopters fanned out over the city, and Munich's transit system was shut down. Residents were asked to stay off the streets.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rampage, but a high-ranking police official told The Post that it appeared likely that it was linked to terrorism.

A message posted online in Arabic, apparently from an Islamic State account, said: "Nowhere is safe for all of you. You people have opened the doors of hell by declaring war on us." An elite German counter terrorism force was promptly dispatched to Munich to help deal with the situation.