Munich’s famed Oktoberfest was shut down for seven hours on Wednesday, October 1st, after a German man launched a violent rampage against his family, leaving at least one person dead and several injured, before killing himself.
The attack sparked a major security alert when a note he left behind contained a vague threat to the festival.
The drama began before dawn in the city’s northern Lerchenau district, where the 57-year-old suspect shot his parents with a homemade firearm and set their house ablaze.
His 90-year-old father is believed to have died in the inferno. His 81-year-old mother survived gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital, while his 21-year-old daughter, a German-Brazilian dual national, was rescued by firefighters after threatening to jump from a first-floor window to escape the flames.
Police said the attacker, identified locally as Martin P. from Starnberg, southwest of Munich, had rigged the house with explosives, including grenades attached to tripwires, and carried a backpack loaded with explosives. Witnesses reported several explosions, and at least three vehicles, including his van, were torched.
The suspect fled on foot but was tracked by a police helicopter to a lakeside park, where he shot himself in the head. He was still alive when officers reached him but died soon afterwards.
Around 500 emergency personnel, including bomb squads, were deployed to secure the scene, while 80 local residents and a nearby school were evacuated.
A letter written by the suspect was later found in a letterbox, containing an unspecified bomb threat to Oktoberfest.
Authorities ordered the closure of the festival grounds. More than 750 officers and 30 sniffer dogs combed the Wiesn site before Mayor Dieter Reiter declared it safe to reopen at 17:30. “The safety of all visitors has the highest priority,” he said.
Despite there being no indication of a genuine terrorist plot, the incident comes at a time of heightened sensitivity in Germany. The country has been on high alert in recent years following several terror attacks, carried out by migrants, at Oktoberfest as well as Christmas markets across the country, which have left lasting scars on public confidence in security.
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann ruled out political or religious motives, saying the incident appeared to be a private family dispute, reportedly linked to a long-running paternity conflict. Police later confirmed that an Antifa-related post claiming responsibility online was a hoax.
Despite the day’s disruption, festivalgoers returned in the evening to the world’s largest folk fair, which draws millions of visitors each year.
