Attack in Munich: Investigators evaluate shots as an anti -Israeli terrorist attack

Investigators consider the shots of a young man on the Israeli Consulate General in Munich around six months ago as a terrorist attack. After the investigation has been completed, the police and public prosecutor’s office see an anti -Israeli motif. If you evaluate all the results of the investigation, you come to the conclusion that the attack was primarily motivated by Israel, said Gabriele Tilmann, head of chief of the Attorney General at the Munich General Prosecutor’s Office.

Islamism had only played a subordinate role in the attack of the Austrian, who was later shot by the police, the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office and the Attorney General said: “Rather, the perpetrator showed the image of an immature personality that was in a phase of upheaval and instability.”

Tilmann spoke of a loner who had no social contacts in real life or in online networks. There are no references to instigators, supporters or the attacker of the attacker.

Twelve minutes until the fire change with the police

On September 5, 2024, the 18-year-old Austrian shot the consulate in the Bavarian state capital on September 5, 2024 with a repeat rifle from former Swiss army stocks, and the Nazi documentation center nearby. He died after a change of shooting with police officers. The young man had traveled to Munich by car from his mother via Freilassing. He parked it in the area of ​​the Consulate General. According to LKA, it took twelve minutes before the police shot him and he was fatally injured by 14 projectiles.

After that, up to 100 civil servants in the “Karolinenplatz” special commission named after the crime scene determined for a good six months.

According to the investigators, the 18-year-old was a socially isolated loner. According to the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, the attacker’s father also perceived his son as mentally conspicuous. He was an intelligent student who developed into a loner during the time of pandemic. At school he was confronted with taunts and teasing.

Tilmann explained that he failed in school and training. “He had no friends at all.” And he had not found any strategies to cope with the failures.

Why do the investigators see an anti -Israeli motif?

The perpetrator used symbols of the Islamist group Haiat Tahrir al-Scham (HTS) in a computer game in 2021, the investigators said. At the beginning of December, HTS had overthrew the long-term power of Bashar al-Assad with the help of other rebels in Syria and was then integrated into the state. The new transitional government today consists largely of HTS officials.

The later shooter also looked at a lot of content on the Internet that dealt with a disadvantage of Muslims. Videos with reference to the war in the Gaza Strip, the later shooter provided anti -Semitic comments and referred to others as “unbelievers”. As a Muslim, he felt unfairly treated, said the chief prosecutor.

At the beginning of the Gaza War, this increased to an anti-Israel attitude. The war was triggered by the worst massacre in the history of Israel, the terrorists of Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations on October 7, 2023 in Israel near the border to the Gaza Strip.

The perpetrator traveled to Munich on the anniversary of the Olympic attack in 1972 – but according to Tilmann, there was no evidence that he knew about the importance of this date.

Investigators attest to the young man a strong interest in firearms and stab weapons in the period before the crime. According to LKA knowledge, the shooter had unsuccessfully tried to buy weapons from July 2024. He failed from professional dealers because they found that authorities had imposed a temporary impairment ban against him.

One day before the crime on September 5, 2024, the 18-year-old acquired the repetitive rifle from 1936 in Austria. In the crime, the weapon was also provided with a bayonet. According to the investigators, the sale of such a weapon is legal in Austria.

The private seller knew nothing about the weapon’s ownership ban. He shouldn’t have reported the sale either. Only the 18-year-old would have been obliged to report as a buyer within six weeks.

Were there any other parties?

After completing their work, the investigators rule out that there were parties to the crime, the other or instigator: the perpetrator’s environment had been “minute” with the help of other authorities and international partners. “No” references to terrorist associations or groups have been found, Tilmann said.

Why did the 18-year-old shot to other buildings?

The perpetrator did not find his attack goal at first. Even after the first shots on the premises, he had to orientate himself with a cell phone app, as Sebastian Herre, head of SOKO, described. Camera records made it clear that the perpetrator “presented the crime execution a lot differently”.

The 18-year-old first shot several times on the Nazi documentation center, then on the window of another building, climbed there and injured himself. He was lying around on the ground floor and then left the building over the window.

The fact that he was unsuccessful with the attack on the consulate was also due to the fact that the facility was closed due to a commemoration for the anniversary of the 1972 Olympic attack. The 18-year-old shot a guard house equipped with bulletproof glass. The police officers stationed there were already on duty to stop him. A little later, the 18-year-old died through 14 police balls in a nearby courtyard.