Munich Shooter Plotted 1 Year, Lurked on Dark Internet

Teen had also been treated for mental health issues in the past year
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 24, 2016 7:34 AM CDT
Munich Shooter Plotted 1 Year, Lurked on Dark Internet
A couple stand near a mall where a shooting took place leaving nine people dead the day before on Saturday, July 23, 2016 in Munich, Germany.   (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson)

Investigators looking into Friday's mass shooting in Munich say the gunman spent more than a year preparing his attack, reports the AP. Bavarian investigator Robert Heimberger said the 18-year-old shooter, whom the BBC identifies as David Sonboly, "received inpatient (psychiatric) treatment in 2015 for two months and after that received outpatient care," said Thomas Steinkraus-Koch, spokesman for Munich prosecutor's office. "The suspect had fears of contact with others" and also depression. Sonboly visited the site of a previous school shooting in the German town of Winnenden and took photographs.

Heimberger said Sonboly, who likely got his illegal weapon through the internet's "dark net" market, was an avid player of first-person shooter video games, including "Counter-Strike: Source." Steinkraus-Koch said there is still no evidence of any political motivation to the crime, nor that the shooter killed specific victims. The number of injured has now risen to 35, notes the BBC. More on the gunman here. (More Munich stories.)

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