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A couple stand on Satureday near a mall where a shooting took place on Friday leaving nine people dead in Munich, Germany. — AP[/caption]BERLIN — There are absolutely no indications that the German-Iranian gunman who opened fire on shoppers in Munich on Friday had links to Daesh (the so-called IS) and the attack also had no link to refugees, Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said on Saturday.
Andrae said the 18-year-old attacker’s room had been searched, adding: “Based on the searches, there are no indications whatsoever that there is a connection to IS (Daesh).”
Andrae said investigations had not given any reason to believe there was more than one perpetrator and attacker had “no link whatsoever to the topic of refugees.”
He said there was no reason not to visit Munich or to cancel events for security reasons.
German investigators have established an “obvious link” between the Munich mall shooting and far-right Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik.
“The link is obvious,” Andrae said at a press conference, describing the gunman as obsessed with mass killings.
He added that he researched the theme of rampages, had documents relating to past violent incidents and may have researched Breivik’s lethal killing spree.
Investigators searched the unnamed German-Iranian man’s home overnight and found a considerable amount of literature about mass killings, including a book titled “Rampage in Head: Why Students Kill.”
Investigators also found evidence that the Munich-born suspect had suffered from psychological problems and received treatment, but details were still being confirmed, said Munich prosecutor Thomas Steinkraus-Koch.
The attack in the Bavarian capital sparked a massive security operation as authorities — already on edge after the recent attacks in Wuerzburg and Nice, France — received witness reports of multiple shooters carrying rifles shortly before 6 p.m. (1600 GMT). Eight hours later police declared a “cautious all clear,” saying the suspect was among the 10 dead and that he had likely acted alone.
At an address on Dachauer Strasse that was searched by police early Saturday, a neighbor described the suspect as “very quiet.”
“He only ever said ‘hi’. His whole body language was of somebody who was very shy,” said Stephan, a coffee shop owner who would only give his first name.
“He never came in to the cafe,” he added. “He was just a neighbor and took out the trash but never talked.”
The suspect’s body was found about 2 1/2 hours after the attack, which started shortly before 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) at a McDonald’s restaurant across the street from the mall.
A cell-phone video posted online showed the suspect dressed in black standing on a rooftop parking area of the mall yelling back and forth with the person filming, saying at one point “I’m German” and eventually firing shots.
Andrae said police believe the video is genuine.
