Munich shooting: Teenage gunman named as Ali David Sonboly

Hannah Al-Othman23 July 2016

Police have identified the gunman who shot nine people dead in yesterday's rampage in Munich as David S.

Local media have named the attacker as 18-year-old Ali David Sonboly, who had both German and Iranian citizenship.

Sonboly is believed to have shot himself dead about 1km from the scene of the attack at the Munich Olympia Shopping Centre (OEZ).

The teenager was not known to police prior to the attack, officers said.

Munich police spokeman Peter Beck said officers were still collecting evidence at the scene of the crime, and were as yet unclear on a motive.

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

"With regard to the suspect we have to examine everything, but we don't know yet what triggered the crime," he said.

It is understood police raided a home in the the city's Marxvorstadt district, around 1.2 miles from the scene, and are believed to be interviewing the gunman's father.

Mr Beck declined to confirm these reports, citing "ongoing police operations".

A neighbour on Dachauer Strasse that was searched by police on Saturday morning described the alleged gunman as "very quiet".

Wishing to only give his first name, Stephan, an owner of a coffee shop, said: "He only ever said 'hi'. His whole body language was of somebody who was very shy."

He added: "He never came into the cafe - he was just a neighbour and took out the trash but never talked."

Police said the victims killed in the massacre included teenagers, with children among the 16 people injured.

Three of the victims are still fighting for their lives in hospital.

One woman who wished to only be known as Lauretta told CNN she was in the McDonald's restaurant at the time of the attack and saw many casualties that were children.

She said: "I hear like an alarm and boom, boom, boom ... and he's still killing the children. The children were sitting to eat. they can't run."

Lauretta also revealed that she heard the gunman should "Allahu Akbar" Arabic for "God is great."

She added: "I know this because I'm Muslim. I hear this and I only cry."

Scene: police outside the McDonald's where the gunman opened fire 
NONSTOP NEWS via AP

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", Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said.

Speaking at a press conference in the early hours of Saturday morning, he said the attack "makes us speechless and our thoughts go out in particular to the victims".

"As a result of the manhunt with a large-scale operation force we have found a male person, who given the current level of intelligence committed suicide," Mr Andrae said.

"On the basis of witness reports and on the basis of CCTV footage we assume that this person is the suspect.

"We currently have no indications that there were further perpetrators involved. The suspect is, according to the current level of intelligence, an 18-year-old Iranian from Munich."

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