The gunman who opened fire on the Israeli consulate in Munich was reportedly an Austrian citizen, likely of Bosnian-Muslim origins, who entered Germany recently.
The German government confirmed his target was the Israeli consulate. The terrorist is reportedly 18 years old. According to his car's license plate, he lives near Salzburg, Austria. He was unknown to the German security forces but was known to their counterparts in Austria as an Islamist.
He arrived at the memorial center in Munich armed with a long Mauser rifle with a bayonet from World War II, manufactured by Nazi Germany. He was caught on video with the rifle and when he opened fire, he was killed by the officers.
The shooting occurred on the same day 52 years ago when 11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The Israeli consulate was closed due to the memorial ceremony that was supposed to take place on Thursday but was canceled due to the attempted attack.
Israel's ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, said: "On the anniversary of the attack against the Israeli athletes in Munich, there was another shooting in Munich. In 1972, eleven Israeli athletes and a German policeman were murdered. Today, courageous police officers stopped the attacker in time and prevented anything worse from happening. Our thanks go to the emergency services in Munich. The victims of 1972 were actually supposed to be remembered today but this commemoration has now been canceled. Germans and Israelis are both affected by terror, so we must fight against terrorism together."
"I spoke now with my dear friend German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Together we expressed our shared condemnation and horror at the terror attack this morning near the Israeli consulate in Munich. On the day our brothers and sisters in Munich were set to stand in remembrance of our brave athletes murdered by terrorists 52 years ago, a hate-fuelled terrorist came and once again sought to murder innocent people. I want to thank the German security services for their swift action and send my support to all those targeted. Together we stand strong in the face of terror. Together we will overcome."
President Issac Herzog said he had spoken to his German counterpart. "We expressed our shared condemnation and horror at the terror attack this morning," Herzog posted on X, adding that on the day of remembrance for the Olympics massacre, "a hate-fueled terrorist came and once again sought to murder innocent people".