A SECOND shooting was reported in Munich just moments after at least nine people were killed and 20 injured in a nearby shopping centre.
Reports revealed a gunman opened fire at the Karlsplatz U-bahn metro station in Stachus Square, Munich's main square just three miles away from the Munich Olympia centre where the first incident happened.
in the square were seen running away from a building which looked like a church.
Authorities blocked off the Hotel Stachus and a heavy police presence surrounded the hotel where terrified travellers were holed up.
Munich Police said there were several gunmen on the loose in Munich and none have been caught yet.
Police said seven people were killed in the shopping centre and they are looking for three gunmen with pistols or handguns.
A tweet from the police said: "Currently we do not know where the perpetrators are. Please be careful and avoid public places."
Bild newspaper has reported one of the gunmen shot himself in the head in the shopping centre.
Another is thought to have a bag of explosives strapped to his back.
Munich is officially in a state of emergency and police have said the incident is an "acute terrorism situation".
The local government's civil defence unit said all citizens should stay off the streets and they should not hinder the efforts of rescuers.
Munich Police are refusing to say whether they believe the multiple incidents are a terrorist attack.
A leading security expert said it was highly likely the attacks were linked to Islamic State (ISIS) as the terror group has been focusing on Germany recently.
An ISIS propaganda channel tweeted: "Munich so far not claimed by Islamic State.
"But everything hurting infidels makes us happy."
Raffaello Pantucci, the directory of international security studies at the The Royal United Services Institute, said the Islamist death cult have Germany high on its agenda as an attack site.
Currently we do not know where the perpetrators areMunich Police
He said: "It is unclear what we are looking at right now but looking at the German context about terrorism, Germany was one of the countries concerned about in respect of the threat.
"It's a country Daesh or Islamic State have expressed an interest in attacking.
"They see it as one of the countries fighting in the alliance against them, it's a a country with a lot of attention around immigration and it's a major European power.
"We have seen a number of attacks and scares in Germany so it makes sense Germany is a country that would be targeted but at the moment we don't know what we are dealing with."
Early reports said a heavily armed man wandered through the shopping mall in Moosach, Munich before opening fire in a coffee shop between 6pm and 6.30pm local time (5 -5.30pm BST).
Local paper, the Munich Evening News, said 15 people are believed to be dead at the shopping centre.
Police have confirmed three are dead so far but said the number is likely to rise.
All public transport has come to a halt and office workers have been told to remain in their buildings by police.
Munich Police have shut down the underground and overground trains in the German city as the first shooter escaped into the Metro system.
Commuters are desperately trying to get out of Munich in cars as panic spreads across the city.
A police spokesman told reporters: “Five people have died, we have 100 people on site and are trying to evacuate people, around 100 people.
“More importantly we have a lot of emergency calls we are taking.
“With a lot of help we are calling on all emergency services to assist us.
“It’s far too early to give any umbers
“I can’t at this point say anything about the shooters.
“There are five people dead.
“Our priority is to catch the attackers at this stage.
“We first were alerted when somebody entered the shopping centre with a weapon and we rushed to these scene, we are doing what we can.
“All the emergency services are from Munich at the moment but we are looking at back up from the region.
“It’s a short handgun or pistol. We closed down the area and surrounding area
“I’m hoping you will share all your information and videos with us to give us clues to track down the shooters. We are asking people to send in their videos
“Our main priority is the security of the population.
“We are telling the people of Munich there are shooters on the run who are dangerous.
“This is the biggest police operation in the last ten years we’ve had to deal with.
“You must trust your local police, Munich police is very well trained.
“Firearms are a huge problem in this particular evident.
“We urge people to stay indoors and help us with our work.
“We are looking for three shooters.”
The British Foreign Office is telling British nationals to avoid the area.
A statement on the website, said: "There are reports of a security incident at the Munich Olympia Shopping Centre.
"There are uncorroborated reports of other incidents elsewhere in the city.
"The Munich underground system and other public transport has reportedly been shut down.
"If you are in an affected area, you are advised to stay indoors where possible and follow the advice of local authorities who are advising people to avoid crowded places across the city."
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