Munich Oktoberfest Closed After Deadly Explosion, Boobytrapped Property, Fire

The Munich Oktoberfest will reopen Wednesday evening after blasts, explosive booby-traps, and a major fire in the city linked to a written bomb threat against the festival triggered a police lockdown.

One man, believed by police to be the perpetrator, was found dead after an explosion and fire in Munich, Germany, on Wednesday. A handwritten note making allusions to the world-famous Oktoberfest cultural festival and explosives found near the scene saw its venue closed for hours while police swept for bombs.

Police later said they were satisfied that the evening’s festivities could take place after they completed their sweeps.

Officers were initially summoned in the early hours of Wednesday morning when local residents in a Munich suburb were woken by the sound of a blast and gunshots, which were followed by a blaze at a residential address.

It is believed the alleged perpetrator mined his apartment with explosive booby-traps, set a fire, then shot himself to death. Experts at the scene discovered these booby-traps which according to Die Welt were hand-grenades rigged with tripwires.

The remains of the suspect were also found wearing a backpack bomb. A further suspicious item was discovered by police in a burnt-out truck at the scene.

The suspect has not been formally identified but Welt cites sources who say it may be 57-yuear-old German citizen Martin P. Two people were injured, and a third is missing.

No motive has yet been made public.

Major public events and festivals in Germany generally take place under high levels of government and police protection after years of attacks against them by extremists, with plots both attempted and realised. Foiled plots to attack events like the world-famous German Christmas markets, often involving Islamist cells, are reported with a drumbeat frequency in German press.