Gunman shot dead by police near Israeli consulate in Munich on anniversary of 1972 Olympic Massacre

Israeli embassies worldwide have faced increased threats since Oct 7

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A gunman was shot dead by the German police after being spotted with a rifle near the Israeli consulate in Munich on Thursday morning, according to German media.

At about 9 a.m. local time, passersby alerted police officers of a man seen with a long rifle in central Munich, near the Israeli consulate building and a World War II museum.

“He fired at the police officers, who returned fire,” stated Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann.

According to German media, the gunman was a teenage Austrian Islamist named Emra I., who had traveled to Munich from Austria’s Salzburg region near the border with Bavaria. Authorities later confirmed that the gunman had targeted the consulate.

The Israeli consulate was closed at the time due to a planned memorial for the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics Massacre in which six Israeli coaches and five athletes were murdered by terrorists belonging to the Palestinian terror group, “Black September.”

#BREAKING Israel President says the shooting at the consulate in Munich was a terror attack after a phone call with his German counterpart pic.twitter.com/MFiwIEyxVs
— Guy Elster (@guyelster) September 5, 2024

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier a few hours later.

“Together we expressed our shared condemnation and horror at the terror attack this morning near the Israeli consulate in Munich,” Herzog stated.

“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-filled terrorist came and once again sought to murder innocent people.”

I spoke now with President of Germany, my dear friend 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…
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) September 5, 2024

“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,” Herzog stated.

Consul General Talya Lador thanked the Munich Police for its cooperation and actions.

“This incident shows how dangerous the rise of antisemitism is. It’s important that the public raise its voice against it,” she said.

The incident came just one day after a tourist was attacked by two men in the city of Heidelberg for wearing a shirt with a Star of David and a message about the Israeli hostages in Gaza that read: “Bring them home now.”

“It is pure antisemitism that people are attacked wearing Jewish symbols and for showing solidarity with the hostages kidnapped by the terrorist organization Hamas. I very much hope that the authorities in Heidelberg will find the attacker and bring him to justice,” Lador wrote on 𝕏.

Israeli diplomatic missions and embassies worldwide have been under increased threat since October 2023, amid a rise in global antisemitism and anti-Israel protests.

On Wednesday, the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., was closed off by police after “a suspicious object was thrown into the yard.”

“Embassy staff and the building are unharmed. The incident is being handled by local police and the Embassy’s security team,” a spokeswoman for the embassy, Tal Naim, posted on 𝕏.

The embassy has been under siege by anti-Israeli protesters for the past months, with embassy personnel being told to enter the building only in secured car convoys.

The Washington Times later issued an update that a backpack thrown over the fence of the embassy was investigated and cleared by the explosives team. No injuries or damage were reported to the property.

Police later arrested “a 35-year-old Black man” for unlawful entry in connection with the incident.