Gunman shot dead after opening fire near Munich's Israel consulate

MUNICH, Germany — German police shot dead a gunman who had opened fire on them near Munich's Israeli consulate on Thursday, the anniversary of the hostage-taking at the 1972 Olympic Games.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed "horror" at what he described as a "terror attack" near the diplomatic mission and close to a Nazi-era historical exhibit.

The exchange of gunfire sparked panic and a widespread police lockdown in the downtown area of the Bavarian state capital, near the Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism.

"Police responded with armed force against the perpetrator, who was carrying a rifle and had fired a number of shots," said Bavaria's state interior minister, Joachim Herrmann. The gunman died of his wounds.

"The identity of the suspect must now be clarified, as well as his motives," Herrman added.

It was "obvious that the crime scene" near the Israeli diplomatic mission and documentation centre "could provide further clues" about the gunman's motive, he said.

Herrman pointed that Thursday marks "the 52nd anniversary of the terrible attack on the Israeli team during the Olympic Games" of 1972 at the hands of a Palestinian militant group.

A memorial service for the victims of the hostage-taking in Fuerstenfeldbruck, where the Israeli athletes were shot, was cancelled, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "I spoke now with President of Germany, my dear friend Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"Together we expressed our shared condemnation and horror at the terror attack this morning near the Israeli consulate in Munich."

 'Bitter to swallow'

The exchange of gunfire shortly after 9:00 am (0700 GMT) sparked fear in the downtown area. Residents and office workers went into lockdown as police swept in, sirens blaring, and a police helicopter circled the sky.

Munich police wrote on X that, after the shooting, there were "no indications of any other suspects" and that no one else had been wounded.

The gunman had used a vintage long-barrelled weapon, they added.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser labelled it a "serious incident".

Its location was a "bitter pill to swallow", she added, stressing 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 and Jewish life.

A record number of 5,164 anti-Semitic crimes were recorded in 2023, compared to 2,641 in 2022, 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.