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‘Lone’ Munich shooter kills nine, commits suicide

Chancellor Angela Merkel will convene her security council on Saturday to address the deadly rampage in the European economic powerhouse which took in more than one million migrants and refugees last year.

“We are determined to do everything we can so that terror and inhuman violence stand no chance in Germany,” her chief of staff Peter Altmaier said.

– ‘Murderous’ –

The spree began before 1600 GMT at the McDonald’s and continued on a nearby street before the attacker moved into the Olympia centre — which lies not far from the scene of the 1972 Olympics massacre.

Shoppers rushed away from the mall, some carrying children in their arms, as the building was surrounded by armed police and emergency vehicles, while helicopters buzzed overhead.

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

De Maiziere had said the teenager was believed to be a “lone wolf” who appeared to have been “inspired” by IS but was not a member of the jihadist network.

The train rampage triggered calls by politicians in Bavaria 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.

German President Joachim Gauck said he was horrified by the “murderous attack”, while Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, who was on a flight to New York when the shooting began, said he will return to Germany.

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US President Barack Obama and French counterpart Francois Hollande voiced staunch support for their close ally.

“Germany’s one of our closest allies, so we are going to pledge all the support that they may need in dealing with these circumstances,” Obama said, speaking before the nine deaths were confirmed.

“The president of the republic offers his sympathy and support to the German people in this difficult hour,” Hollande said, according to a statement from the presidency.

Austria said it had “significantly” tightened security measures in states sharing a border with Germany and put its elite Cobra police force on high alert.

– String of attacks –

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