GETTY German Chancellor addressed the media 16 hours after Munich shooting

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The horrifying scenes put 1.4m people on lockdown in Germany's third largest city and sent the nation into a panic amid a fresh wave of terror incidents across Europe. While no motive has currently been identified in this latest incident, Mrs Merkel, 62, has come under heavy criticism from the public who are becoming increasingly uneasy about her policies. Mrs Merkel did not travel to Munich and instead returned to Berlin from a trip to the Alps yesterday, where it is believed she was having a holiday. She refused to answer questions from reporters and instead opted to read a speech as she made her first public comments.

Angela Merkel in pictures Tue, August 8, 2017 Angela Merkel has served as German Chancellor since 2005 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000. We take a look at her political career in pictures. Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 83 Angela Merkel through the years

She said: "In Munich it was a night of terror. "Those people who wanted to go for dinner have died and they were killed by the gunshots of a lone attacker. "We are all - and I'm saying this on behalf of the whole federal government - mourning with a heavy heart for those who will never return to their families. "To the families, the parents and children for whom everything today seems empty and pointless, I say personally and in the name of many, many people in Germany: we share your pain, we're thinking of you and we're suffering with you." However after taking time to reference the shocking murders Mrs Merkel then went on to address the instability in the EU states.

GETTY Angela Merkel makes a speech following Munich atrocities