Munich shooting: police investigate claims gunman lured victims to their deaths with fake Facebook post offering free McDonald's meals

Hannah Al-Othman25 July 2016

Police in Munich are investigating whether a killer may have lured people to their deaths with a fake Facebook post offering free meals at McDonald's.

A reporter at a press conference in the German city suggested a "game" posted on Facebook offering free food at the McDonald'son in Hanauer Street at 4pm on Friday was an attempt to encourage people to congregate at the scene before the attack.

The reporter asked: "On Facebook there is a type game whereby at 4 o'clock in the afternoon you should be meeting in McDonald's because something ... I believe this is a fake game where people are asked to congregate at McDonald's because McDonald's might be offering free meals."

Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said the game was "one part of the comprehensive investigation we are conducting".

Gunman: Footage captured a shooter opening fire on shoppers outside a McDonald's restaurant

"As to whether this may be connected with the crime we have to investigate that," he said.

"At the moment it's simply impossible to say that. It is one part of the rather comprehensive investigation that we are conducting with the federal police forces."

The killer, believed to be an 18-year-old German-Iranian, opened fire in a branch of McDonald's at about 5.50pm local time yesterday, before going outside and continuing to aim at terrified passers-by.

Police officers escort people from inside the shopping centre in Munich
Joerg Koch/Getty Images

Unverified video footage showed a gunman outside a McDonald's restaurant, thought to be on the same street, firing at people who could be seen running from the scene.

The gunman then went on a rampage through the nearby Olympia-Einkaufszentrum mall, killing nine people in total.

Police said the victims killed in the massacre included adolescents, while there were children among the 16 people injured.

Investigators suspect the youth, who is thought to have lived in the south German city for more than two years, acted alone before killing himself.

Any motive behind the attack currently remains "totally unclear" and investigations will be "running on all cylinders", Mr Andrae added.

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