MUNICH — Police shot and killed a man during an exchange of fire in the German city of Munich on Thursday, in an area near the Israeli Consulate and a museum on the city’s Nazi-era history.
Officers spotted a man carrying “a long gun” in the center of the Bavarian capital, Andreas Franken, a spokesperson for Munich Police told a news briefing.
Five officers approached him “and then there was an exchange of fire,” he said, adding that the suspect had died at the scene. No other injuries have been reported, he said.
At a later news conference, Franken said the suspect had been identified as an 18-year-old Austrian national and officers were investigating possible motives.
The gunman was carrying older type carbine with a bayonet attached, he added.
The incident took place in the Karolinenplatz area, near downtown Munich.
Speaking at the second news conference, Joachim Herrmann, Bavaria's interior minister said the Israeli consulate, which is in the same block where the incident took place, was likely the target of the attack.
Thomas Hampel, Munich’s police president also said that security measures had been increased around Jewish organizations and several other locations around the city.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the consulate in Munich was closed when the shooting occurred and that no consulate staff had been affected by the incident.
A large police presence is still in the area with some police officers carrying machine guns. A police helicopter is circling overhead.
Thursday marked the 52nd anniversary of the attack by Palestinian militants on the Israeli delegation at the 1972 Munich Olympics, which ended with the death of 11 Israeli team members, a West German police officer and five of the assailants.
It was unclear whether the incident was in any way related to the anniversary.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he spoke with German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Taking to X, he wrote that “together we expressed our shared condemnation and horror” at the shooting.
