German man admits selling pistol used in Munich mall rampage

BERLIN – A 32-year-old German admitted Monday that he sold the pistol used by a teenager at a deadly shooting rampage at a Munich mall a year ago.

The dpa news agency reported that the defendant admitted at the opening of his trial in a Munich state court that he sold the weapon and ammunition to David S., the 18-year-old who went on the rampage last summer, killing nine and wounding dozens before killing himself.

Philipp K., whose last name wasn’t released in line with privacy laws, faces a possible five years in prison if convicted of charges of involuntary manslaughter, weapons violations and other crimes.

Pleas aren’t entered in the German system and such admissions are common as a way to mitigate a defendant’s sentence.

K. said he sold the weapon on the darknet, a restricted access computer network often used by criminals, but had no idea it would be used for an attack.

He apologized to the victims of the attack in a statement read by his attorney, saying if he had known that the teenager “would commit such a horrible act” he would have never sold him the Glock 17 pistol.

Investigators have said the assailant in the July 2016 shooting was a victim of bullying who suffered from panic attacks and depression.