German-Iranian gunman kills at least nine in Munich shopping mall

A special force police officer stand guard near the Olympia shopping mall, following a shooting rampage at the mall in Munich, Germany July 23, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

MUNICH - An 18-year-old German-Iranian gunman who apparently acted alone opened fire in a busy shopping mall in Munich on Friday evening, killing at least nine people in the third attack against civilians in Western Europe in eight days.

The pistol-wielding attacker, identified by Munich Police Chief Hubertus Andrae as a dual national, was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.

Police, citing eyewitness accounts, had initially said they were looking for up to three suspects in the shooting attack at the Munich Olympia Shopping Centre that sent shoppers fleeing in panic and shut traffic across the city.

But authorities told a news conference early on Saturday the shooter was believed to have staged the attack alone, opening fire in a fast food restaurant before moving on to the mall.

Sixteen people, including several children, were injured in the attack and three were in critical condition, Andrae said.

There was no known motive for the shooting in Germany's third largest city, which went into lockdown with transport halted and highways sealed off immediately after the attack.