A suspected Islamist gunned down by police this morning after he fired shots near the Israeli Consulate General and the Nazi Documentation Centre in Munich was carrying a World War Two-era rifle with a bayonet, footage has revealed.
Breathtaking footage showed the shooter – an Austrian national with Bosnian heritage named Emrah I. according to German press – stalking the streets close to the two buildings in the area of Briennerstrasse and Karolinenplatz.
A wood-stock weapon, thought to be a Mauser-type repeater rifle, was clearly seen sporting a large fixed bayonet below its barrel in the hands of the shooter who was seen running along the pavement wearing a dark top and maroon trousers after arriving on the scene in a car sporting Salzburg licence plates.
The man, believed to be just 18 years of age, fired several shots at police posts close to the Israeli consulate building located just a few metres away from the Munich Documentation Centre – the former Nazi party headquarters which is now dedicated to addressing the city’s troubled past.
Bavaria’s state interior minister Joachim Herrmann confirmed the teen was shot by armed officers and subsequently died from his injuries. No one else was hurt in the attack.
German news site Spiegel Online and Austrian media said that he had been investigated last year for allegedly spreading Islamic State group propaganda, but that the case had been dropped.
The shocking incident comes on the anniversary of the infamous 1972 Munich Olympics massacre in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed by the Palestinian ‘Black September’ militant group.
Breathtaking footage showed the shooter – reportedly an Austrian national with Bosnian heritage named Emrah I. – stalking the streets close to the two buildings in the area of Briennerstrasse and Karolinenplatz
Chilling moment ‘Islamist’ wielding a WW2-era gun fitted with bayonet stalks Israeli consulate
Police officers secure the area after a shooting near the NS Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism building in Munich, Germany, 05 September 2024
Police officers secure the area after a shooting near the NS Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism building in Munich, Germany, 05 September 2024
Police officers secure the area after a shooting near the building of the Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism (NS-Dokumentationszentrum) in Munich, southern Germany, on September 5, 2024
Police officers patrol after police fired shots at a suspicious person near the Israeli Consulate and a museum on the city’s Nazi-era history in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024
Police officers patrol near a scene after police fired shots at a suspicious person near the Israeli Consulate and a museum on the city’s Nazi-era history in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024
The shootout around 9:00am sparked a mass mobilisation of about 500 police in downtown Munich, where residents and office workers huddled indoors as sirens wailed and a helicopter flew above.
Armed police could be seen approaching the consulate building in tactical file, weapons drawn to secure the area, in a clip shared on social media.
The building was closed for a memorial service for the 1972 massacre when today’s attack occurred.
A volley of powerful gunshots could be heard ringing out in another shocking clip shared by a German journalist this morning.
A terrified citizen was also seen sprinting away from the site of the shooting in the breathless video.
An eyewitness told German outlet BILD: ‘I heard several shots and as a member of a shooting club I knew immediately: live ammunition was being fired.’
‘It took several minutes until the first police officers came after him. They then shot at him at least 30 to 40 times. After that, I just heard them shout: ”He’s lying on the ground, not moving anymore”.’
Officials later confirmed that five policemen had engaged the shooter and shot him dead on the spot.
Meanwhile, deputy chairman and CEO of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) Benedikt Franke explained how armed police descended on the scene shortly after the incident.
‘Our office, which is located right next to the Nazi Documentation Centre in downtown Munich, is cordoned off by the police. Our employees are in lockdown.
‘At exactly 9:10am there was a loud bang. At least a dozen shots were heard. We don’t know any more at the moment. A large contingent of emergency services is currently deployed on the street.’
Armed police are seen in tactical file preparing to secure the Israeli consulate building
Police vehicles parked in Munich near the Nazi Documentation Center and the Israeli Consulate General in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024
A terrified citizen was seen sprinting away from the site of the shooting in a breathless clip shared to social media
Armed police are seen unloading equipment close to the scene
Initial reports indicated that the shots had been fired in front of the Israeli Consulate General, located just a few metres away from the Munich Documentation Centre
Armed police have gunned down a suspected attacker in Munich after shots were fired outside the city’s Nazi Documentation Centre (pictured) this morning
The shooting comes on a particularly sensitive date – the anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympics attack.
During the tragic event, Palestinian extremists took eleven Israeli athletes hostage and ultimately murdered them, marking one of the darkest moments in the history of the Olympic Games.
Israeli diplomat Talya Lador-Fresger said in a statement on today’s incident: ‘We are very grateful to the police forces in Munich for their actions and cooperation. This event shows how dangerous the rise of anti-Semitism is.
‘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.’
German authorities were treating the incident as a ‘possible attack on an Israeli institution’, said Bavarian minister Joachim Herrmann.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on X that he had spoken with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
‘Together we expressed our shared condemnation and horror at the terror attack this morning near the Israeli consulate in Munich,’ he said.
‘On the day our brothers and sisters in Munich were set to stand in remembrance of our brave athletes murdered by terrorists 52 years ago, a hate-fuelled terrorist came and once again sought to murder innocent people.’
Herzog thanked the German security services for their ‘swift action’ and said that ‘together we stand strong in the face of terror’.
Police officer block a street after police fired shots at a suspicious person near the Israeli Consulate and a museum on the city’s Nazi-era history in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024
Police officers stand next to their cars after police fired shots at a suspicious person near the Israeli Consulate and a museum on the city’s Nazi-era history in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024
The 1972 massacre started as a hostage crisis in the early morning hours of September 5 when eight armed members of the Black September militant group infiltrated the Munich Olympic Village and used stolen keys to enter two apartments being used by the Israeli Olympic team.
Some team members resisted the intrusion, ultimately leading to the deaths of two of them.
The group then took nine hostages, with a spokesman demanding the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel and Red Army Faction leaders Ulrike Meinhof and Andreas Baader in West Germany.
Black September also demanded a plane for their own escape.
After debating whether to engage in negotiations with the terrorist group, West German authorities ultimately determined that a rescue attempt would be the only way to solve the crisis.
They decided to feign an agreement with Black September, allowing them to transport the bound hostages to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base nearby.
The West German police decided to secretly ambush the Black September members there with snipers, but the plan suffered from poor communication, improper planning and an inadequate number of sharpshooters to eliminate all of the terrorists.
At the airport, the Black September members became aware of their deception and engaged in a fierce gun battle with West German police.
Despite premature media reports that the hostages had all been successfully rescued, all of them were ultimately killed in the failed rescue attempt by gunfire or grenades from Black September members.
The Black September members were all killed by around 1:30am local time on September 6.
A combination photograph shows the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches who were killed at the Munich Olympics in 1972 after the Palestinian Black September group took them hostage
Palestinian terrorists took eleven Israeli athletes hostage and ultimately murdered them, marking one of the darkest moments in the history of the Olympic Games
Two West German policemen wearing athleitic sweatsuits and armed with submachine guns get into position on the roof of the Munich Olympic village building where armed Arab gunmen hold Israeli Olympic team members hostage 6th September 1972
Armed police drop into position on a terrace directly above the apartments where members of the Israeli Olympic team were being held hostage by the Black September group
Today’s shootout in Munich was labelled a ‘serious incident’ by Germany’s Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who said the location of the attack was a ‘bitter pill to swallow’ and noted that ‘the protection of Jewish and Israeli institutions is of the highest priority’.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza after the October 7 attack, many Jewish communities worldwide have been targeted in attacks and hate crimes.
This is a special cause of concern in Germany, which in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust has committed itself to steadfast support for Israel.
A record number of 5,164 anti-Semitic crimes were recorded in 2023, up from 2,641 the year before, according to German internal intelligence.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany estimates that there are around 100,000 practising Jews in the country and around 100 synagogues.
