Police in Munich, Germany engaged in a shootout with a gunman near the Israeli Consulate on Thursday, ultimately fatally wounding him. Previously, the perpetrator had fired shots at the Nazi Documentation Center, the Consulate General of Israel, and two other buildings in connection with the crimes, the Bavarian Police reported.
It was revealed that a man had fired at the Israeli Consulate General using an older long gun with an attached bayonet. Initially, it was reported that he was seriously injured and remained at the scene. However, shortly afterward, Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) confirmed that the gunman had died. According to police, two other people were also slightly injured in the incident by acoustic trauma.
The police investigation showed that the suspect was an 18-year-old Austrian citizen. He recently moved to the Salzburg region with his family. He was reportedly known to security authorities as an Islamist, with data and a computer game found on his mobile phone indicating ties to Islamist ideologies. The weapon used by the perpetrator was an older 7.5 x 55 mm caliber Swiss carbine with a 6-round magazine and attached bayonet.
The gunman’s motive is unknown and investigations are underway into the crime’s background. Exactly 52 years prior to Thursday, member of the Israeli Olympic team were shot and killed in an attack during the Olympic Games in Munich. However, it is still unclear whether there is a connection between these two events. Munich police said there was no evidence of any more suspects connected to the attack.
Addressing the issue of perpetrator radicalization on social media, Florian Herrmann, Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery and Bavarian Minister of State for Federal and European Affairs and the Media announced a review of prevention strategies, stating that the ministry will reassess measures to be more vigilant.
The Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office is treating the act as a terrorist attack, particularly due to the involvement of the Consulate General of Israel. Investigations into the review of the legality of the police use of firearms are also being conducted by the Department of Internal Investigations of the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office.
