Oktoberfest celebrations in a German city were shut on Wednesday after a ‘family dispute’ left two people dead and two others injured.
Police closed the popular event in Munich after a bomb threat and an incident at a house that investigators said had been deliberately set on fire. A person believed to be the suspect’s father was found dead inside the building, according to local media reports.
Authorities said they also found the suspect’s 81-year-old mother injured in the garden, and a woman believed to be his daughter on the first floor. Special forces were brought in to defuse booby traps found in the property and neighbours within a 200-metre radius were evacuated.
A 57-year-old suspect from Starnberg was later found dead near Munich’s Lake Lerchenau and is believed to have taken his own life. He was carrying a backpack which is believed to have contained an explosive device that had to be defused, police said.
Investigations into the case are ongoing.
Who are the victims?
A person believed to be the suspect’s father was lying dead inside the building. First responders have not yet been able to reach the body due to the intense heat of the fire, DW reports. German outlet Bild reported that the suspect had allegedly shot his father and injured his mother and daughter.
Police confirmed that two people were injured during the incident. These were identified as the suspect’s 81-year-old mother, a German citizen, and his 21-year-old daughter, a German-Brazilian citizen. Both lived in Munich, investigators said, and were being treated in hospital for injuries.
Officers rushed to the scene roughly 10 minutes after the first emergency calls reporting the sound of gunfire, explosions and a man fleeing the scene of the residential home. They found the suspect’s mother hurt and hiding in the garden.
A woman believed to be the suspect’s daughter was found on the first floor of a building that was “fully ablaze” when police arrived.
Investigators believe the fire was set deliberately following a family dispute, and earlier on Wednesday found hand grenades and tripwires at the house, according to Welt.
What do we know about the suspect?
Police identified the suspect only as a 57-year-old German citizen residing in the town of Starnberg. He has yet to be named by authorities but German outlet WELT reports that he worked as a caretaker, craftsman and garden designer.
When called to the house fire, first responders found explosives near a Mercedes van that belonged to the suspect. The explosives detonated and set the vehicle alight.
Officers saw the suspect fleeing the scene from the garden and gave chase on the ground while a police helicopter pursued overhead.
“In the end, the person was cornered near the Lerchenauer See [lake] and then took his own life,” Thomas Hampel of the Munich police said.
“But the person could not be immediately checked, because the individual had a rucksack on his person and we had to assume this might contain further unknown explosives."
Officers said they had carried out searches at the suspect’s home address Wednesday, adding that he did not have permits for firearms or explosives.
What was the motive?
Munich police said that a letter written by the suspect was found near the crime scene during their initial investigation.
It was said to contain a “non specific threat of explosives related to Oktoberfest”.
They clarified that there was “currently no connection with a letter published today on an internet platform, which, among other things, addresses arson attacks on high-quality vehicles”.
Earlier on Wednesday, police were said to be investigating a post published online, claiming responsibility for attacks on luxury cars in northern Munich.
The Munich Police Department told WELT that “the post on Indymedia is a copycat”, indicating no connection to Antifa, as previously speculated.
What was the response?
With more than 500 officers deployed, police evacuated the surrounding area and the decision was taken to close the Oktoberfest beer festival until Wednesday afternoon.
Munich mayor Dieter Reiter confirmed that the fairgrounds would reopen from 5.30pm local time after police ordered their closure and searched tents on site.
General operations may continue into the evening, authorities added, but there was no indication that there was a danger in other parts of the city.
Authorities initially responded to reports of a burning residential building early this morning while residents reported hearing explosions or gunshots.
One witness told the dpa news agency: “I woke up around five o’clock because there were a few bangs. I got up, looked, and then there was a fire.”
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