2016 Munich shooting

2016 Munich shooting
Outside the McDonald's on Hanauer Straße 83, looking northwest on a cloudy day.
Outside the McDonald's on Hanauer Straße 83, looking northwest, where the shooting began
Munich is located in Bavaria
Munich
Munich
Munich (Bavaria)
Munich is located in Germany
Munich
Munich
Munich (Germany)
LocationMoosach, Munich, Germany
Coordinates48°11′0″N 11°32′1″E / 48.18333°N 11.53361°E / 48.18333; 11.53361
Date22 July 2016; 8 years ago (2016-07-22)
17:52 – 20:26 (UTC+2)
TargetCivilians
Attack type
Mass shooting, mass murder, murder–suicide[1]
WeaponsGlock 17 semi-automatic pistol[2]
Deaths10 (including the perpetrator)
Injured36 (4 by gunfire)[3][4]
PerpetratorDavid Sonboly (born Ali Sonboly)[5]
MotiveFar-right extremism, Xenophobia[6]

On 22 July 2016, a mass shooting occurred in the vicinity of the Olympia shopping mall in the Moosach district of Munich, Germany. An 18-year-old Iranian-German, David Sonboly, opened fire on fellow teenagers at a McDonald's restaurant before shooting at bystanders in the street outside and then in the mall itself. Nine people were killed, and 36 others were injured,[7] four of them by gunfire. Sonboly then hid nearby for more than two hours, and killed himself by a self-inflicted gunshot wound when confronted by police.

Two reports by Bavaria's State Office of Criminal Investigation and another by the public prosecutor's office concluded the shooting was not political, saying Sonboly's main motive was "revenge" for bullying by others from immigrant backgrounds, and that mental illness, romantic rejection and obsession with other shooting rampages were also a factor. Germany's security agency described him as a "psychologically ill avenger".

An independent report by three political scientists said Sonboly may also have been driven by xenophobia or far-right ideology. Der Spiegel reported in 2016 that fellow online video gamers said that Sonboly wrote anti-Turkish messages, admired Germany's right-wing AfD party,[8] and was "very nationalistic".[9] According to media reports, some of those who knew him said he considered himself part of the Aryan race, and boasted about sharing the same birthday as Adolf Hitler.[10] In light of this, several politicians urged the police to focus on his possible political motives and in 2019 Bavarian police declared that the shooting was partly motivated by far-right extremism.[6] The attack took place on the fifth anniversary of the 2011 Norway attacks.[11]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Auf einen Blick: Was über den Amoklauf von München bekannt ist" [At a glance: What is known about the rampage at Munich]. Augsburger Allgemeine (in German). 23 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Bayerische Polizei - Fortentwicklung der Ermittlungen zum Amoklauf in München" [Bavarian police - Evolution of the investigation into the massacre in Munich]. Polizei Bayern (in German). 28 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Münchner Polizei bearbeitet rund 1750 Hinweise zu Amoklauf" [Munich police processed some 1,750 Notes on rampage]. Welt Online (in German). 28 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  5. ^ "David? Ali David? Wie lautet der Name des Amokläufers von München?" [David? Ali David? What is the Munich gunman's name?]. Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  6. ^ a b "'Radical right-wing' motives in Munich 2016 attack". Deutsche Welle. 25 October 2019.
  7. ^ Catherine E. Shoichet; Ralph Ellis; Jason Hanna (22 July 2016). "Munich shooting: 9 victims, gunman dead". CNN. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Amokläufer David S.: Einsam, krank und fest entschlossen" [Gunman David S.: decided lonely, sick and laid]. Der Spiegel (in German). 24 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  9. ^ Hell, Peter; Lutteroth, Jule; Neumann, Conny (24 July 2016). "Münchner Amokläufer David S.: Er nannte sich Hass" [Munich spree killer David S.: He identified as 'Hate']. Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference DWJuly17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Dafinger, Johannes; Florin, Moritz (2022). A Transnational History of Right Wing Terrorism: Political Violence and the Far Right in Eastern and Western Europe since 1900. United Kingdom: Routledge. p. 221.