Police entering the Olympia shopping center
The 2016 Munich shooting was a mass shooting that occurred at 5:52 PM on 22 July 2016 when 18-year-old Ali David Sonboly began shooting at people at the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum shopping mall in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The attack left 9 dead and 31 wounded, and it ended when the perpetrator shot himself in the head. The shooting was initially believed to be an Islamic State attack, as it was reported that three gunmen had opened fire at three separate locations": the shopping mall, the Marienplatz station, and an Isartorplatz movie theater. Later, it was feared that the attack was the result of German nationalism, with false reports claiming that a German nationalist was responsible. Ultimately, the attack was attributed to mental illness, and it turned out to be a murder-suicide rampage instead of a political act of terror.
Attack[]
A shooter on top of a Munich parking garage
At 5:52 PM on 22 July 2016, 18-year-old Iranian-German Ali David Sonboly came out of a bathroom in the McDonald's restaurant of the Olympia shopping mall and began to open fire with an assault rifle, especially targeting children as a terrorist tactic. Some people heard the attacker shout "Allahu akbar", while others heard him insulting foreigners. The German police had people stay in their homes as they dealt with the situation, having been trained rigorously in counter-terrorism operations. In addition, all transit was shut down to prevent the shooters from escaping. More shots were heard at the Marienplatz Station, and a third crime scene was opened at Isartorplatz in front of a large movie theatre; it turned out that there was no crme scene there. CNN reported that the Germans were setting up an operational headquarters to coordinate the activities of their responding policemen, also noting that the GSG-9 counter-terrorist special forces were said to be one of the best counter-terrorism forces worldwide, training for counter-terrorist activities since the 1972 Munich Massacre (which, ironically, occurred just next to the mall). During the attack, the shooter was verbally abused by hiding civilians as he stood on the roof of the parking garage, with one man telling him that he was not a German, but a "wanker"; the attacker responded by shouting that he was a German, and the abuser reiterated his claim that he was a "wanker".
Misidentification of the perpetrator(s)[]
The internet comedian Sam Hyde, whose poor taste in humor led to some news outlets identifying his fictitious character of "Samuel Hydberg" as the shooter in the attacks
Some news outlets and websites reported that "Samuel Hydberg", a "German" nationalist, was responsible for the shootings, but the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, with their members cheering online. In addition, it was later revelaled that "Samuel Hydberg" was a joke in poor taste that was created by internet comedian Sam Hyde, who was known to take pictures of himself and pretend that he was the lone gunman of several mass shootings, including the 2015 San Bernardino attack. Hyde's creation of the meme, at a time when speculation over the perpetrators was occurring, led to several news outlets erroneously identifying the fictitious Hydberg as the shooter.
However, claims that the attacks were carried out by nationalists did have merit, as some eyewitnesses heard the attackers insulting foreigners. In addition, the news stated that the police would investigate if the ninth victim of the attack was a perpetrator that committed suicide. In Islamist terrorist attacks, the perpetrators never kill themselves without attempting to kill others in the process. Suicides by gunshot are typically carried out by psychopathic mass shooters, while Islamist terrorists typically fight until they are killed, or they use suicide belts to blow themselves up and attempt to kill others in the process.
Most news outlets reported that three gunmen were being sought due to their role in the attacks, and the German police expected to find at least three armed men with assault weapons. However, later reports suggested that there was only one gunman, and news outlets eventually reported that the gunman was an 18-year-old German of Iranian descent, identified as Ali David Sonboly. Sonboly was suggested of being mentally ill, and there were no known links to the Islamic State, despite IS' claim of responsibility for the attack.