How is that possible?

Emrah I was able to buy a gun despite a weapons ban

The shooter's car with Salzburg license plates is towed away in downtown Munich.

(Bild: AFP/LUKAS BARTH-TUTTAS)

Why did Emrah I, the Munich shooter, not have an early warning system in place? The 18-year-old was even able to buy a gun despite a weapons ban. The investigations so far also raise questions about international cooperation ...

The Munich attacker had a history of violence, was fascinated by the terror militia IS and yet was part of mainstream society. He lived with his parents in an attractive residential area in Salzburg. Neighbors were completely surprised by his crime during the "Krone" local inspection. He is said to have been inconspicuous.

However, there is still room for a failure on the part of the authorities. Because of his conspicuous behavior, Emrah I. was banned from owning weapons until the end of 2028. Now it turns out that this apparently didn't stop him from buying a gun in Salzburg shortly before his trip to Munich.

As the German newspaper "Bild" reported, the 18-year-old is said to have bought the bolt-action rifle from the World War II era from a local gun dealer the day before his crime. It was a so-called category C weapon. According to the Weapons Act, these are rifles that have to be reloaded manually after each shot.

Relatives reported him missing
According to reports, Emrah I. was not a "classic Islamist". While he was on his way to Munich with the long gun on Thursday, relatives reported him missing.

The 18-year-old apparently shot at a police officer first.

(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

As confirmed by security sources, someone from the family had appeared at a Salzburg police station and reported the boy's sudden disappearance. There had allegedly been no recent indications that he would open fire on police officers in Munich with an older-style carbine with a bayonet attached. 

Emrah I. was known to the authorities
Last year, however, the then 17-year-old became conspicuous. The Salzburg public prosecutor's office had investigated him for terrorist association (§278b StGB). After making a dangerous threat against fellow pupils and causing bodily harm, his cell phone was confiscated. When the device was examined, three videos were found - the teenager had recorded sequences of a computer game in which he was re-enacting terrorist acts.

The police "suspected that he had become religiously radicalized, was active online and was interested in explosives and weapons", as the Salzburg State Police Directorate stated in a press release. According to reports, Emrah I. had changed during the pandemic. He had previously been a good HTL student. Due to his change of character, he had become increasingly isolated and dropped out of school at the beginning of the year.

The Salzburg State Office for State Protection and Counter-Extremism (LSE) submitted a total of five reports on the 18-year-old to the public prosecutor's office. In April 2023, the Salzburg prosecution authorities closed the investigation into the terrorism allegations. However, a weapons ban was imposed on the boy. The 18-year-old did not appear in police custody again until Thursday morning.

Germany was not informed
The authorities in Germany were apparently not informed that a potential "Gefährder" was living just a few minutes' drive away. The Bavarian police confirmed on Friday that they had no information about the gunman who was killed. A spokesman for the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) said that a search of the databases on the 18-year-old Austrian with Bosnian roots had been negative. 

According to extremism experts such as Peter R. Neumann, the fact that there is no European threat file is a pressing problem. "Anyone who opens borders and creates a common area of movement (i.e. Schengen) must also ensure that security authorities work together smoothly," he said on Platform X.

According to information from the German Press Agency (dpa), German security circles assume that the suspect had links to the Islamist group HTS. HTS stands for "Haiat Tahrir al-Sham", a militant Islamist militia. The Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution writes that HTS emerged in 2017 from the merger of a former al-Qaeda offshoot and several smaller militant Syrian groups. Unlike al-Qaeda, which continues to plan attacks in the West, HTS focuses on Syria and wants to overthrow the ruler there, Bashar al-Assad.

Search for background continues
Domestic investigators have not yet been able to prove any Islamist links: A house search was carried out at the 18-year-old's residence in Neumarkt am Wallersee well into the night following the foiled suspected terrorist attack.

According to available information, no further weapons or other suspicious objects - such as insignia of terrorist organizations or propaganda material - were discovered. The furnishings in the room of the boy, who lives with his parents, are said to have given no indication of any connection to Islamist ideas.

The 18-year-old who was shot by the police also did not look like an Islamist. He was only wearing red trousers and a shirt when he set off for Munich with the family car and his gun in his luggage to open fire.