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Three gunmen are being hunted by police in Munich after at least eight people were shot dead in and outside a shopping centre.

The area around the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum (OEZ) shopping mall in the centre of the German city has been sealed off as the gunman is tracked down.

A senior German officer, speaking at a press conference, said cops are still trying to track the gunmen after the horrific scenes at the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum (OEZ) shopping mall in the centre of Munich.

He said: "(There are) shooters on the run that are dangerous."

He confirmed that five people have died, but couldn’t say how many who have been injured "but there are people who have been traumatised, and they are in double figures".

He added that they had a "pistol or handgun of some sort".

Footage showing a man firing at passers by outside the shopping centre has appeared online, as has a second showing what appears to be another gunman on the mall's roof.

The first video captures the moment a gunman opened fire on innocent bystanders outside a packed shopping centre in Munich.

The busy street is plunged into chaos when a man wearing a cap and sunglasses opens fire with what appears to be a handgun outside a McDonald's.

Terrified bystanders, including the unnamed witness filming the scene, flee in fear as a barrage of at least 18 shots can be heard ringing out.

Six people have been killed and many more have been injured at around 6pm tonight, according to German public broadcaster BR.

Police helicopters have been seen circling over Munich as armed police hunt ‘at least three’ gunmen on the loose.

A Reuters photographer has reported seeing a sniper from one of the helicopters above the mall, according to Bild.

(Image: Twitter) (Image: Getty)

Footage has also been posted online as has video filmed by terrified shoppers inside the mall. One shows police officers with guns drawn looking for the person or people behind the shootings.

German media have reported that there have been multiple fatalities, though police are yet to confirm this.

Shoppers are believed to still be trapped in the mall as police try to track down the armed man.

(Image: Reuters)

TV images showed dozens of emergency vehicles outside the

mall.

The shopping center is next to the Munich Olympic stadium, where the Palestinian militant group Black September took 11 Israeli athletes hostage and eventually killed them during the 1972 Olympic Games.

Friday's attack took place a week after a 17-year-old asylum-seeker wounded passengers on a German train in an axe

rampage claimed by Islamic State.

Police have released a statement warning people to stay in their homes, off the road and away from the OEZ shopping centre.

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Cops say it is currently unclear who is behind the 'shootout.'

At least one person is reported to have been killed in the incident with ten injured.

Video from the scene of the attack is apparently being widely spread on IS-related Twitter accounts, although it is currently unclear whether the attack is terror-related.

There are reports that the gunman has fled into the city's underground network, although this has not been confirmed.

Pictures are emerging from the scene showing people fleeing and what appears to be a body on the floor.

A police helicopter and what appears to be military policemen are at the scene.

(Image: Twitter) (Image: Sky News)

A Munich police spokeswoman said that no details were immediately available on injuries or who was responsible for the shooting.

A statement on their Twitter account said: "At the moment, we have a large police operation on the Acharya. Please avoid the area around the shopping centre."

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An official at the Munich Olympia Shopping Centre declined comment, saying only, "We are experiencing a problem."

(Image: Periscope)

Full transcript of press conference

"We are at the moment after three attackers and we believe that there are five people from this incident who have died.

"We have at the moment 100 people on site and we are trying to evacuate people, and more importantly we have a lot of emergency calls we are taking.

"We are calling on all emergency services to help us. It's far too early to give you any numbers of those killed. Our priority is to catch the attackers at this stage.

"We were first alerted when someone entered the shopping centre with a weapon and we rushed to the scene. The emergency call to us was that an armed man was on site.

"All the emergency services are from Munich but we are also looking at backup from the region. What I can say about the attackers is that up to now there are three that we know of and it's a handgun or pistol of some sort that's all I can say.

"We closed down not only that area but the surrounding area. this is my first time in such a situation

"We are telling the people of Munich that there are shooters on the run who are dangerous.

"This is the biggest police operation in the last 10 years that we have had to deal with. We ask people to stay indoors and to help us with our work. We are looking for exactly three shooters at the mo and of course there are rumours going around but the main priority is the security of all the people in Mucnich.

"I believe the shooting started in a restaurant in the shopping centre. They shot in the restaurant and then used a weapon outside.

"We've managed to evacuate people from inside and hopefully brought everyone to safety.

"Please be careful if you have to go out at all. we are urging people to stay indoors. There are several injured, I can't give you a specific number.

"There are people who have been traumatised by this and I can tell you they are in the double figures.

"We have to treat this as a form of terror attack as it is an attack with weapons. but as to what is behind this we don't know yet because we haven't caught the shooters."