Police officer search the area near the Stachus square after a shooting was reported there in Munich, southern Germany, Friday, July 22, 2016. Several people have been reported to be killed. (AP Photo

MUNICH: Gunmen went on a shooting rampage in a shopping mall in the southern German city of Munich yesterday, killing and wounding many people, police said. Authorities were evacuating people from the Olympia mall but many others were hiding inside. The Bavarian Interior Ministry said three people were dead, NTV television reported. A Munich police spokeswoman said multiple people were killed or wounded. "We believe we are dealing with a shooting rampage," the spokeswoman said.

More than one gunman was believed to be involved and no one had been arrested, she said. "We believe there was more than one perpetrator. The first reports came at 6 pm, the shooting apparently began at a McDonald's in the shopping center. There are still people in the shopping center. We are trying to get the people out and take care of them." Police special forces had arrived at the scene, NTV said. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, which took place a week after an axe-wielding teenager went on a rampage on a German train. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack.

The Bild newspaper reported that a gunman ran through the mall near the Munich Olympic stadium, firing on several people before fleeing in the direction of a nearby metro station. Staff in the mall were still in hiding, an employee told Reuters by telephone. "Many shots were fired, I can't say how many but it's been a lot," the employee, who declined to be identified, said from the mall in Munich. "All the people from outside came streaming into the store and I only saw one person on the ground who was so severely injured that he definitely didn't survive. We have no further information, we're just staying in the back in the storage rooms. No police have approached us yet." Munich transport authorities said they had halted several bus, train and tram lines. - Agencies