‘Islamist’ wielding WW2-era gun stalks Nazi museum, Israeli consulate

A suspected Islamist gunned down by police this morning after he fired shots near the Israeli Consulate General and the Nazi Documentation Centre in Munich was carrying a World War Two-era rifle with a bayonet, footage has revealed. 

Breathtaking footage showed the shooter – an Austrian national with Bosnian heritage named Emrah I. according to German press – stalking the streets close to the two buildings in the area of Briennerstrasse and Karolinenplatz. 

A wood-stock weapon, thought to be a Mauser-type repeater rifle, was clearly seen sporting a large fixed bayonet below its barrel in the hands of the shooter who was seen running along the pavement wearing a dark top and maroon trousers after arriving on the scene in a car sporting Salzburg licence plates. 

The man, believed to be just 18 years of age, fired several shots at police posts close to the Israeli consulate building located just a few metres away from the Munich Documentation Centre – the former Nazi party headquarters which is now dedicated to addressing the city’s troubled past. 

Bavaria’s prosecutor Joachim Herrmann confirmed the teen was shot by armed officers and subsequently died from his injuries. No one else was hurt in the attack. 

Austria’s Der Standard newspaper reported this afternoon that the shooter was known to authorities as a potential extremist and was suspected of having distributed Islamic State propaganda. 

The shocking incident comes on the anniversary of the infamous 1972 Munich Olympics massacre in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed by the Palestinian ‘Black September’ militant group. 

Armed police could be seen approaching the consulate building in tactical file, weapons drawn to secure the area, in a clip shared on social media. 

The building was closed for a memorial service for the 1972 massacre when today’s attack occurred.

A volley of powerful gunshots could be heard ringing out in another shocking clip shared by a German journalist this morning. 

A terrified citizen was also seen sprinting away from the site of the shooting in the breathless video. 

An eyewitness told German outlet BILD: ‘I heard several shots and as a member of a shooting club I knew immediately: live ammunition was being fired.’

‘It took several minutes until the first police officers came after him. They then shot at him at least 30 to 40 times. After that, I just heard them shout: ”He’s lying on the ground, not moving anymore”.’

Meanwhile, deputy chairman and CEO of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) Benedikt Franke explained how armed police descended on the scene shortly after the incident.

‘Our office, which is located right next to the Nazi Documentation Centre in downtown Munich, is cordoned off by the police. Our employees are in lockdown. 

‘At exactly 9:10am there was a loud bang. At least a dozen shots were heard. We don’t know any more at the moment. A large contingent of emergency services is currently deployed on the street.’ 

The shooting comes on a particularly sensitive date – the anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympics attack. 

During the tragic event, Palestinian extremists took eleven Israeli athletes hostage and ultimately murdered them, marking one of the darkest moments in the history of the Olympic Games.

Israeli diplomat Talya Lador-Fresger said in a statement on today’s incident: ‘We are very grateful to the police forces in Munich for their actions and cooperation. This event shows how dangerous the rise of anti-Semitism is. 

‘It is important that the general public raises its voice against it. Our Consulate General was closed today to commemorate 52 years since the terrorist attack at the Olympic Games.’

The 1972 massacre started as a hostage crisis in the early morning hours of September 5 when eight armed members of the Black September militant group infiltrated the Munich Olympic Village and used stolen keys to enter two apartments being used by the Israeli Olympic team.

Some team members resisted the intrusion, ultimately leading to the deaths of two of them. 

The group then took nine hostages, with a spokesman demanding the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel and Red Army Faction leaders Ulrike Meinhof and Andreas Baader in West Germany. 

Black September also demanded a plane for their own escape.

After debating whether to engage in negotiations with the terrorist group, West German authorities ultimately determined that a rescue attempt would be the only way to solve the crisis. 

They decided to feign an agreement with Black September, allowing them to transport the bound hostages to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base nearby.

The West German police decided to secretly ambush the Black September members there with snipers, but the plan suffered from poor communication, improper planning and an inadequate number of sharpshooters to eliminate all of the terrorists.

At the airport, the Black September members became aware of their deception and engaged in a fierce gun battle with West German police. 

Despite premature media reports that the hostages had all been successfully rescued, all of them were ultimately killed in the failed rescue attempt by gunfire or grenades from Black September members.

The Black September members were all killed by around 1:30am local time on September 6.