Shooter Opens Fire Near Israeli Consulate in Germany’s Munich

German police shot dead a man in an exchange of fire near the Israeli consulate in Munich on Thursday, German media reported.

German police in Munich said officers exchanged shots with a suspicious person in an area near the Israeli Consulate and a museum dedicated to the city’s Nazi-era history.

The suspect was reportedly injured in the shooting and was later pronounced dead, state Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said.

“Due to the intervention of the police, the perpetrator was stopped,” Herrmann told reporters. A police spokesperson in the Bavarian state capital said the man had a “long-barrelled gun” that proved to be an old rifle.

Israeli media reported that the incident occurred on the anniversary of the 1972 attack at the Munich Olympics in which Palestinian fighters murdered 11 Israeli athletes.

The motive of the gunman in Thursday’s incident was not immediately known, but Herrmann said police would try to clarify whether it had any link to the anniversary.

The Israeli foreign ministry said the consulate was closed on Thursday for a commemoration of the 1972 incident and no one from the consulate staff was injured in the incident.

Source: Agencies