Teen friend of Munich attacker released

Munich authorities say a 16-year-old Afghan friend of the Munich attacker who was detained Sunday has been released, but police still are investigating him for not reporting possible advance knowledge of the gun rampage that killed nine people.

German news agency DPA reports that the 16-year-old was freed from custody Monday.

Investigators retrieved a deleted WhatsApp instant-messaging chat between him and the attacker. Police say it suggests that the 16-year-old met the attacker at the scene of the attack — a Munich shopping mall — before the shooting, and knew that the attacker owned a handgun.

Investigators say the two teenagers met last year as patients in a psychiatric ward. Both were being treated for online game addiction and other problems.

The Munich gunman, an 18-year-old German-Iranian high school student, killed himself after his Friday night attack.

— AP