Munich: The 18-year-old who opened fire outside the Israeli Consulate is an Islamist from Austria

An 18-year-old Islamist from Austria is reportedly the man who was shot and killed by Munich police after he previously fired at them with a long-barreled weapon outside the Documentation Center for Nazism in the city center. The incident, according to the police, took place at 09:00 (local time).

According to the German website Bild, the 18-year-old perpetrator, named Emrah I., was permanently residing in Austria, and all local news outlets report that he was born in Salzburg in 2006. It is also mentioned that the man has Bosnian heritage.

The magazine Der Spiegel and the Austrian newspaper Der Standard also report that the 18-year-old was known to the Austrian authorities as an Islamist, and in 2023, a complaint had been filed against him for involvement in a terrorist organization and spreading propaganda for the ‘Islamic State.’ The Austrian authorities had found such material on his mobile phone, but in the end, did not proceed with prosecution.

An eyewitness who spoke to Bild stated that the police returned fire at the perpetrator. ‘It took a few minutes for the first officers to chase him down. Then they fired at least 30-40 times, and afterward, I heard them shout: He’s on the ground. He’s not moving anymore,’ the witness said. Shortly afterward, Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann announced that the perpetrator had succumbed to his injuries.

Right next to the Documentation Center for Nazism is the Israeli Consulate General, which, however, was almost empty today due to the anniversary of the Palestinian terrorist attack against Israeli athletes on September 5, 1972, during the Munich Olympic Games.

According to the police, the 18-year-old acted alone and used an old Mauser repeating rifle, which was used during World War II, and he also carried a bayonet.

Benedikt Franke, CEO of the Munich Security Conference (Siko), was a witness to today’s attack. His office is next to the Israeli consulate, according to Bild. ‘Our office is currently cordoned off by the police. Our employees are in lockdown. At exactly 9:10 a.m. (local time), a loud bang was heard. At least a dozen shots were fired. We don’t know more at this time.’

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