BERLIN — German police fatally shot an armed man Thursday morning in a shootout after he opened fire near the Israeli Consulate and a Nazi Documentation Center in central Munich.
By Kate Brady
Salzburg police in northern Austria, confirmed that the suspect “with Bosnian roots” was already known to authorities in February 2023.
“After making a dangerous threat to fellow students and causing bodily harm, the man was also accused of involvement in a terrorist organization,” police said. "There was suspicion that he had become religiously radicalized, was active online and was interested in explosives and weapons.”
In April 2023 Salzburg public prosecutor’s office dropped all allegations, but put the individual under a weapons ban valid until 2028.
Munich police asked residents to avoid the area around Karolinenplatz on Thursday because of a huge police operation, although there were no indications other suspects were involved.
Officers “responded with the appropriate weapons to the perpetrator, who was carrying a long gun and had fired a series of shots,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told reporters earlier in the day. Authorities later said the weapon was an “older carbine” with a bayonet attached.
Video circulating on social media showed a gunman carrying a weapon matching the description from police. The daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that the location corresponded with that of the Israeli Consulate. Munich police spokesman Andreas Franken said five officers were involved in the exchange.
“Officers spotted a person who appeared to be carrying a firearm,” police wrote on X. A police helicopter was also deployed to “get a better overview of the current situation from the air.”
Police said they also found a parked car belonging to the shooter close to the scene.
The incident coincided with the anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. Eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village at the 1972 Summer Games and killed two members of the Israeli Olympic team. Nine others were taken hostage and later killed during a failed rescue attempt. A police officer was also killed.
In a statement on X, Talya Lador, the Israeli consul general in Munich, thanked police for their actions and cooperation.
“This event shows how dangerous the rise of antisemitism is,” Lador wrote. “It is important that the general public raises its voice against it. Our Consulate General was closed today to commemorate 52 years since the terrorist attack at the Olympic Games.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier shortly after the incident. In a telephone call, both heads of state “expressed our joint condemnation and horror,” Herzog wrote on X.
As a precautionary measure, the annual memorial event at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base for the 12 victims of the 1972 attack was canceled Thursday morning shortly before it was to begin.
Local media also reported that police significantly increased security at Munich’s Ohel Jakob Synagogue, less than a mile from the incident. Patrol cars were parked at the entrance, and officers with submachine guns surrounded the building, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.
Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder said Munich “held its breath for a moment today.” He thanked police for their “prudent, quick behavior,” as well as residents who immediately informed police.
“Their cooperation was the reason that nothing worse happened,” Söder said, before making a “promise of protection for Jewish fellow citizens.”
correction
An earlier version of this article misidentified Markus Söder as Bavaria’s interior minister. He is the State Premier of Bavaria. The article has been corrected.
