"State of emergency"

Booby traps! Munich Oktoberfest remains closed

A fire in a detached house in Munich triggered a major police and fire department operation on Wednesday. Forensics are also in action.(Bild: APA/NEWS5/-)

After a fire and the discovery of booby traps in a house in the north of Munich, the reports came thick and fast on Wednesday. A German man (57) is said to have shot his father, injured his mother (81) and set fire to the family home. He then allegedly committed suicide. Following an explosives threat, the police also investigated connections with the Oktoberfest. The festival was closed for several hours. The "Krone" is on site.

"There is a state of emergency. Police and helicopters are circling over the city, people are looking everywhere for clues. People are very anxious," reports "Krone" sports director Peter Moizi, who is currently in Munich, in the morning.

Warning of "extreme danger" 
The authorities subsequently sent out a warning message to cell phones. The message warned of "extreme danger". It was therefore uncertain for a long time whether the Oktoberfest would even open its doors again on Wednesday. It was finally decided in the afternoon that it would be allowed to reopen at 5.30 pm.

Explosive dogs in action
In the morning, the police called on Wiesn employees to leave the festival grounds. At midday, the authorities were looking for as many explosives dogs as possible to search the Oktoberfest grounds. As the dpa learned, the animals then had to search the grounds several times. That took a lot of time and manpower.

Lord Mayor: "Safety first"
Munich's Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) did not rule out the possibility of the Oktoberfest remaining closed all day. "The police will do everything possible to have the Wiesn completely searched by 5 p.m. to ensure security." 

Letter of confession with threat against Oktoberfest
According to Reiter, the closure of the Wiesn was based on findings in connection with the fire and explosions in the north of the city in the early morning. "The point is that a perpetrator threatened the Oktoberfest and the police and the coordination committee unanimously came to the conclusion that we cannot take this risk of letting people into the Oktoberfest. The police had previously found a letter containing a threat against the Oktoberfest. The Oktoberfest in Munich (which runs until October 5) would normally have opened its doors at 10 am.

Free rider? Controversy surrounding the Antifa text 
In the morning it was also reported that the police were allegedly investigating a connection with Antifa. A text with the title "Antifa means attack" was posted on the indymedia.org website early this morning.

Police: "We are not investigating Antifa"
It said: "In the early hours of the morning, we torched several luxury cars in the north of Munich and paid house calls. What's more, one fascist's morning stroll didn't end particularly well." At midday, however, the police clarified: "We are not investigating Antifa. According to the current state of the investigation, the post on Indymedia is about free riders. The suspect has no connection to Antifa."

Photos of the crime scene and the Oktoberfest grounds: 

A fire in a detached house in Munich triggered a large-scale operation by the police and fire department on Wednesday. Forensics are also in action.(Bild: APA/NEWS5/-)

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/dpa/AP/Matthias Schrader)

Fire department at the scene(Bild: APA/dpa/Felix Hörhager)

The burnt-out car(Bild: APA/dpa/Roland Freund)

Police at the scene(Bild: APA/dpa/Roland Freund)

(Bild: AP/Matthias Schrader)

(Bild: AP/Matthias Schrader)

Burnt-out van found
On Wednesday night, a fire and the sound of an explosion triggered a large-scale operation in the Bavarian capital. A completely burnt-out van was found in a residential area - and a dead man at Lerchenauer See. A residential building in the Lerchenau district was deliberately set on fire and booby-trapped. "But we can't get to it at the moment because we need special forces who are responsible for disarming them," said a police spokesperson. The burned van in front of the crime scene is said to belong to the perpetrator.

Inheritance dispute probably the motive
The perpetrator is said to have shot his father (90) on Wednesday night, shot his mother and then set fire to the family home. His daughter (21) was able to escape from the burning house. A letter left behind by the perpetrator suggests that the trigger was a family dispute over inheritance. After the gruesome act, the perpetrator is said to have killed himself at Lake Lerchenau, about five minutes away by car.

Local resident: "Then there was a fire"
 "Woke up at around five o'clock because there were a few clangs," reported a local resident. "Got up, looked, and then there was a fire." Another resident reported an acrid cloud of smoke and the smell of burning could be heard from afar. The smoke could still be seen from afar hours later. "Everything is being evacuated, the whole street," said one woman. The police cordoned off a large area and traffic was backed up.

Restricted zone around the burning building
Heavily armed emergency services were on the move in the normally very quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Munich. The police ordered an evacuation radius of 200 meters around the burning building to be cleared by residents. A secondary school was also closed. According to a spokesperson, the fire department was on site with around 100 men.

SEK stormed the perpetrator's apartment and found a letter of confession
The SEK Bayern also stormed the perpetrator's apartment in the district of Starnberg at midday. Beforehand, it was ensured that there were no booby traps. The surrounding area was cordoned off. According to the newspaper "Welt", the emergency services discovered hand grenades with tripwires in the apartment. The surrounding area was cordoned off. The police finally found the letter of confession from the perpetrator, which suggested a reference to the Oktoberfest. The festival was therefore not opened in the morning and remained closed until 5.30 pm.