A fire at a detached house in northern and explosions in the area set off a large emergency operation on Wednesday, with police and firefighters blocking roads.
A police investigation, triggered by a note on the suspect’s person mentioning the world-renowned beer festival, led to the event’s opening being delayed.
But by mid-afternoon, Munich’s Mayor Dieter Reiter said the festival would reopen at 5:30 p.m. local time (1530 GMT/UTC), after police found no signs of danger at the city center site in the Theresienwiese.
What do we know about the police operation in Munich?
Police investigating the house said explosive traps were also detected in the affected building.
“Special forces were called in for defusing. We are on site with numerous emergency response personnel,” police said in a statement on X on Wednesday morning.
“According to the current state of knowledge, the residential building was deliberately set on fire in the context of a family dispute,” police said.
Police believe that the suspect, a 57-year-old man, set the house on fire before committing suicide near a lake in the vicinity in the Lerchenau district of northern Munich. He had explosives in a backpack he was carrying which needed to be defused.
The suspect’s 81-year-old mother and 21-year-old daughter were both injured and were receiving hospital treatment, Munich Police said.
Why was the Oktoberfest opening delayed?
Police had posted that an investigation was underway involving possible links to other parts of the city, including the Theresienwiese festival grounds.
“We are currently investigating in all directions. Possible connections to other locations in Munich are being examined, including the Theresienwiese. For this reason, the opening of the festival grounds is delayed.”
Munich authorities said the grounds were shut down as a precaution after a letter was found on the suspect’s person, which mentioned the event.
Investigators briefly also probed a possible extremist link to the explosions after a post on the indymedia.org website boasted of the destruction of high-end cars and claimed responsibility for arson and assaults under the title “Antifa means attack.”
Police said a total of more than 500 officers were on the case, many of them carrying out precautionary checks at and around the Oktoberfest site, given the note mentioning the event written by the suspect.
“Currently there is no indication that other areas of Munich are in danger,” police wrote.
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Edited by Wesley Dockery
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