The perpetrator of the shooting near the Israeli consulate in Munich is an Austrian citizen and an Islamist known to police, according to a report today (Thursday) by the news website Bild. Bavaria's interior minister stated that the Israeli consulate was indeed the target of the attack, but added that the attacker's motives remain unclear.
According to the report, the shooter, identified only by his surname "Imra," was known to police as an Islamist. He arrived at the scene of the attack armed with a bolt-action rifle and bayonet from World War II. Reports indicate that the suspect had previously faced legal proceedings for disseminating propaganda from the ISIS terrorist organization.
The police have not officially commented on the reports regarding the identity of the shooter, who was killed by police following a brief exchange of gunfire near the Holocaust memorial and the Israeli consulate in central Munich.
A witness to the attempted attack said he saw police chasing the attacker until they caught up with him. "It took a few minutes before the first officers arrived behind him. Then they fired at him at least 30 to 40 times. After that, I just heard them shouting: 'He's on the ground, he's not moving anymore,'" the witness described to Bild. The assailant collapsed after being shot in the chest, and his death was confirmed at 10:31 AM local time.
