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This chilling 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 outsidetheMcDonalds.

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

A terrified witness says the Munich gunman targeted children when he began his sickening at a city-centre McDonald's

Lauraetta said she was with her son was in a bathroom when the killer struck.

She told CNN: "That's where he loaded his weapon.

"Boom, boom, boom, I heard, and then I saw all the injured. I was back to back with him, I was in the bathroom with my kid, and I only saw him shoot directly into the faces of children."

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

Witnesses have reported shooting inside the Olympia mall with terrified shoppers filming the scenes inside.

Further video footage shows a man dressed in black with a red rucksack shooting from the roof of a car park.

Armed and armoured cops flooded the streets around the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum (OEZ) shopping mall in the centre of the German city, which has been sealed off.

It is unclear how many gunmen were involved but witnesses have reported seeing at least three different attackers.

(Image: Twitter)

Police told people to stay in their homes or to seek shelter indoors - and admit they don't know where the gunmen are.

Munich police tweeted: "The suspects are still on the run. Please avoid public places."

The force added: "Please don't take Fotos or Video of Police Action in order to avoid any helpful Information for the suspects."

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In a second video, captured by a terrified member of the public, an unknown man is seen walking across the roof of the shopping centre's car park.

Clad in all black, the man wanders all alone before he suddenly turns and pulls out what looks like a handgun.

ISIS-related social media accounts have been sharing reports of the attack, but reports in German newspaper Bild suggests right-wing extremists are responsible.

In pictures posted online, a person can be seen lying on the ground covered in blood.

Dozens of police vehicles can be seen lining the street outside the shopping centre, and a number of armed officers and a helicopter are at the scene.

A cordon appears to be in place and the area has been evacuated.

The shopping centre in the northern part of Munich is not far from the city's Olympic stadium in the Moosach district of the Bavarian capital.

British nationals in Germany are being advised to comply with instructions from local authorities.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are urgently investigating an incident in Munich and stand ready to provide assistance to British nationals."

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Munich Police said in a statement: "At around ten to six today there were witnesses who called the police and said there was a shooting at the Hanauer Street.

"The shooting moved from that street to the shopping centre. The witnesses said there were three different people with weapons."

(Image: Getty) (Image: Getty)

NTV television reported that German police special forces had arrived at the scene.

“Many shots were fired, I can’t say how many but it’s been a lot,” an 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."

(Image: Getty) (Image: Twitter)

The shopping centre 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.