German Police Kill Suspected Islamist Gunman

German police shot and killed an Austrian suspected Islamist gunman in Munich on Thursday.

Around 9 a.m. Thursday morning, the 18-year-old Austrian fired shots from an old carbine rifle fitted with a bayonet near an Israeli consulate and Nazi history museum, Munich’s National Socialism Documentation Centre.

A shootout occurred between the gunman and five officers before police killed him.

Olympic Massacre: Thursday was also the anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympics attack where Palestinian militants killed 11 Israeli athletes. According to Bavarian state Premier Markus Soeder, “There may be a connection between the two” events.

The Israeli consulate was closed in commemoration of the 1972 Olympics massacre. No one other than the gunman was injured.

Islamist: The Austrian gunman was already known by authorities to have suspected links to an Islamist extremist group.

We have seen local media reports with sources in the security services saying that a raid had taken place at the shooter’s residence last year and material related to the Syrian-based militant group al-Nusra, which historically has ties to al-Qaeda, had been found.
— Lewis Sanders, German correspondent for Deutsche Welle

Munich police called the incident a terrorist attack. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X:

I will say it very clearly: anti-Semitism and Islamism have no place here.

Terror threats: A recent increase in terror threats is putting more and more Germans and German officials on edge. Germany is not taking these threats lightly.

Learn more: Read “Terror Transforms Germany.”