‘Motives incomprehensible’: Lone Munich gunman commits suicide after killing 9, injuring 16

Munich police have announced a ‘cautious all-clear’ after an hours-long manhunt which culminated in the discovery of the suspected gunman’s body. The shooter is believed to have acted alone and with no clear motives in a rampage that claimed nine lives.

“We found a man, who killed him himself. We assume, that he was the only shooter,” Munich police department said.

The perpetrator has been identified “within the framework of Interpol,” police said in a series of tweets in German. Law enforcement believes “with high” probability that the gunman acted alone.

Police said the shooter was an 18-year-old German-Iranian who lived in the country for over two years and whose motives “are still unclear.”

At a press conference, police chief Hubertus Andrae admitted that conflicting witness testimonies made authorities believe that there were three killers at large, but that information has not been confirmed.

Police also announced that the shooting rampage that started at the Olympia shopping center and the adjoining McDonald's left 10 people dead, including one person who died in a hospital and the shooter himself, who has not yet been named.

Youths were among the nine victims of the attack, Andrae added. The chief also announced that 16 more people had been injured in the rampage, including children. Three of the wounded have a life-threatening condition.

Initial reports led police to believe that up to three gunmen were on the lose as security forces deployed all means possible to track the attackers. As the manhunt continued, police found the body of a man that they believed was of the shooter who committed suicide.

Explosives experts from Munich police went on to examine a backpack found on the dead man who resembled the gunman seen on several videos shared online. The body of the man was found about one kilometer (0.6 miles) away from the mall where the shootings took place. A special bomb robot reportedly aided in examining the suspect’s body.Police, according to Focus Online, also secured a vehicle they believe belonged to the dead gunman. Citing a police source, the publication reported that a “dark gray medium-sized car” had been taken away on a tow truck.

After an intense hours-long manhunt during which special police teams were called in from all of Germany, the all-clear was given for Munich city center and public transport operations to restart shortly after 1:00am local time.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog