Munich shooting: Shocked staff shut Irish bar amid panic and uncertainty

An Irish bar in central Munich was forced to shut its doors amid growing panic as the shooting incident in the Olympia shopping mall was followed by the evacuation of a metro station just metres from the pub.

Patrons in Kilian’s Bar in Frauenplatz in the city centre locked the pub’s doors after reports that the nearby Marienplatz metro station was being evacuated amid unconfirmed reports of a separate shooting incident there.

One barman at Kilian’s, Sam Pound, told the BBC there was a sense of panic and fear as news emerged of as many as three gunmen roaming the city.

“It did shock us when we heard about it and what really shocked us was a report [of an attack] maybe 400m away from us, but we’re not sure if that was speculation,” he said.

“We’re situated in a cellar, which is quite taken away from the main street, but when you go to the main street you can hear a lot of sirens and helicopters.”

A member of staff told the Irish Examiner that the doors were closed so no one else could enter while the situation on the streets remained unclear. Another member of staff then said that there had been “a bit of panic” at an earlier stage and “we want to keep everything calm”.

The Irish embassy in Berlin used its Twitter account to urge people to stay off the streets, stating that Munich Police had advised that the situation was currently unclear and that Munich residents should remain indoors. It also tagged clubs and facilities popular with Irish people in the city, such as Munich GAA, Globe Business College, and Kilian’s Bar.