Munich shooting: Police gun down man carrying ‘long gun’ near Israeli consulate

German police on Thursday (Sep 5) gunned down an armed man near the Israeli Consulate in Munich, following an exchange of fire. The attacker, carrying a “long gun”, had first opened fire on police officers in the Karolinenplatz area, near downtown Munich at around 9:00 am local time. He was fatally wounded when police officers returnedfire.

Israel termed the incident as a “terror attack”, which came on the 52nd anniversary of the attack by Palestinian militants on the Israeli delegation at the 1972 Munich Olympics, which resulted in the death of 11 Israeli athletes.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog took to X and wrote: "I spoke now with President of Germany, my dear friend Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

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"Together we expressed our shared condemnation and horror at the terror attack this morning near the Israeli consulate in Munich," he added.

The gunman has been identified as an 18-year-old Austrian man, said Munich Police Chief Thomas Hampel during a press briefing. It was not clear what motivated the teen to launch the attack.

German police said they had no evidence more people were involved in the attack. Authorities responded to the incident by launching a large operation and deploying a helicopter in the area.

The consulate was closed at the time of the shooting and no Israeli official was hurt, a statement by Israel's foreign ministry said.

The attacker reportedly targeted the museum and research institute, which focuses on the history of Germany's 1933-45 Nazi regime.

Germany’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann lauded the police for stopping the attack. "Due to the intervention of the police, the perpetrator was stopped," he said.

DrJosef Schuster, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, also lauded the police for quick intervention.

“What we do know takes our breath away. There could have been a catastrophe in Munich today. I thank the police for their quick intervention,” he stressed.

(With inputs from agencies)