Islamist Gunman Shot by German Police Near Israeli Consulate in Munich

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German police shot and killed a gunman in Munich on September 5 after he opened fire near the Israeli consulate in the Bavarian capital. The gunman — identified as an 18-year-old Austrian national — was understood to have been shot following an exchange of fire with the police. Officers had earlier been alerted to the presence of a man “carrying an old long gun with a bayonet attached to it” near the Karolinenplatz area, close to both the Israeli consulate and a museum dedicated to the Nazi atrocities of World War II, the Associated Press reported. Five officers were already in the vicinity and another 500 were deployed in the aftermath of the shooting. No other fatalities or injuries were reported. Following the incident, German news outlet Der Spiegel and Austrian news outlet Der Standard reported that the gunman had been known to the Austrian authorities as an Islamist.

State officials said they were investigating the possibility that the consulate was the intended target of an attack. “We have to assume that an attack on the Israeli Consulate possibly was planned early today,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told reporters. “It’s obvious that, if someone parks here within sight of the Israeli Consulate … then starts shooting, it most probably isn’t a coincidence.” The consulate had been closed for the day, as staff attended a memorial ceremony for the 52nd anniversary of the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Referring to the commemorations, Bavaria’s Governor Markus Söder said that “there may be a connection — that must be cleared up.”

Expert Analysis

“The timing and location point to an attempted terrorist attack against an Israeli symbol. Given Iran’s threats to strike out against the Jewish state, the Germans should be especially commended for their vigilance. This will not be the last attempt from Khamenei’s murderous regime.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“Germany has long held that the defense of Israel is a “Staatsräson” – a ‘reason of state’ – for the democratic polity that emerged from the horrors of the Nazi period and the Holocaust. The decisive response of the police in Munich to this attempted attack is a welcome demonstration of this principle in action.”  — Ben Cohen, FDD Senior Analyst and Rapid Response Manager

Germany and Israel Unite in Condemnation of Attempted Attack

Germany and Israel “expressed our shared condemnation and horror at the terrorist attack,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said after speaking to his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Separately, the head of the German Jewish community, Dr. Josef Schuster, thanked the police for their intervention, observing that “What we do know takes our breath away. There could have been a catastrophe in Munich today.”

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