Investigators believe it was an attempted terrorist attack

Bereits zuvor hatte Landesinnenminister Joachim Herrmann im Beisein von Ministerpräsident Markus Söder (beide CSU) einen Anschlagsplan auf das in der Nähe des Tatorts befindliche israelische Generalkonsulat nicht ausgeschlossen. Zur Nachfrage, welche Informationen das nahelegten, sagte er am frühen Nachmittag, das liege „nun mal auf der Hand“, wenn jemand unmittelbar in Sichtweite des israelischen Generalkonsulats parke, dann mit dem Gewehr herumlaufe und mit dem Schießen beginne. Man müsse davon ausgehen, dass das mit „hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit kein Zufall ist“.

Polizisten hatten gegen 9 Uhr in dem Areal in der Nähe des Konsulats und des NS-Dokumentationszentrums den mit einer sogenannten Repetierwaffe älteren Baujahres bewaffneten Mann entdeckt. Er schoss laut Herrmann gezielt auf die Polizisten, die das Feuer erwiderten. Dabei sei der Mann getroffen worden und noch am Einsatzort gestorben.

Söder spoke of a warning signal “to all of us”. Details and motives still need to be determined. There is a serious suspicion, as the shooting took place on the day commemorating the attack at the 1972 Olympic Games. “There may be a connection, but that still needs to be clarified,” said Söder.

The shooter was known to the authorities in Austria as a suspected Islamist. The Interior Ministry in Vienna confirmed corresponding media reports. The 18-year-old was reported in 2023 for membership in a terrorist organization. A spokesman declined to provide further details.

According to information from the Austrian news agency APA, the attacker was reported to the Salzburg public prosecutor’s office last year on suspicion of forming a terrorist organization. The young man with Bosnian roots was not a so-called high-risk threat. However, data and a computer game were found on his cell phone that showed a proximity to Islamist terrorist ideology. The case was later dropped.

The APA news agency reported that there was a significant amount of IS propaganda material on the man’s cell phone. A computer game that is said to have spread among IS sympathizers via social media is said to have recreated killing scenarios used by the terrorist militia. The law enforcement authorities are said to have become aware of the cell phone contents after the youth was said to have acted violently against fellow students at his school. In the course of these investigations, his cell phone was confiscated and analyzed.

Bavarian Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich (CSU) said at the press conference that the investigations were being conducted by the Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism (ZET) at the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Söder said that Munich held its breath for a moment. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, only the perpetrator was eliminated. The Prime Minister thanked the police for their “courageous” and “prudent” behavior and he also thanked the population.

Munich’s mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD), who also attended the press conference, called on the federal government to give security forces more options to combat crime. Specifically, he mentioned data retention, more video surveillance and random identity checks.

Reiter called on the traffic light coalition to “finally provide a legal framework so that we can guarantee citizens’ security.” The large number of assassinations and attacks in recent days and weeks “simply make a rethink in the federal government necessary.” He would not accept anything else.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) thanked the emergency services in the evening. “The quick and decisive reaction of the Munich police today stopped an attacker and possibly prevented a terrorist act of violence,” said Faeser. The emergency services deserve “our great thanks and respect.”

During a visit to Stade in Lower Saxony, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was in close contact with his Israeli counterpart, Itzchak Herzog. “In Israel, people are of course at least as shocked as we are that there was a possible attack – at least one possible assassin – near the Israeli Consulate General,” he said.

“I have agreed with the Israeli President that we will remain in close contact and keep him informed about what we find out in the next few hours, especially from the security authorities, about possible motives and facts,” said the Federal President. However, he does not yet know any more than what has already been reported in the media.

The President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, was shocked by the attack near the Israeli Consulate General in Munich. “According to the information we have now, there again seems to be an Islamist background, as was the case in Solingen last week when three people were murdered by an attacker,” Schuster said on Thursday. He added: “We are in a permanent state of tension and threat. We must not allow the enemies of an open society to destroy our freedom and our lives.”

According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the Israeli Consulate General was closed at the time of the shooting due to a memorial ceremony marking the anniversary of the attack at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. No staff member was injured in the incident that morning.

On September 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists carried out an attack on the Israeli Olympic team. Members of the “Black September” organization shot two men in the Olympic Village in Munich and took nine hostages.

Around 18 hours later, a rescue attempt ended with the deaths of the nine Israeli hostages and a policeman. Five of the attackers were killed. The terrorists wanted to force the release of more than 200 prisoners in Israel and the RAF terrorists Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof.