German Police Present Final Report In The Münich Shooting Case

On July 22, 2016, a gunman, who had been later identified as the 18-year-old Ali David Sonboly, killed nine people and himself injuring 36 others in the vicinity of the Olympia shopping mall (OEZ) in the Moosach district of Münich. The shooting took place at a McDonald’s restaurant near the shopping mall, and in the OEZ itself. According to witness reports, the 18-year-old was heard shouting “I am German” (Ich bin Deutscher) and “I was born here” (Ich bin hier geboren) after an onlooker shouted anti-Turkish statements and other abuse at him.

Recently, the local State Criminal Police Office (LKA) presented its final report in the case. According to the agency, the motive of the shooter was bullying.

The LKA reported that Ali David Sonboly planned and carried out the act alone. The 18-year-old was constantly bullied by his classmates and was treated as an outsider in school. According to the report, the gunman was treated by a professional for many years.

The 18-year-old ordered a Glock gun from a dark net vendor, which he used to practice in a cellar of a dwelling-house. After investigators examined the scene, they found out that more than 107 shots were fired without the local residents being aware of it. According to the expert report, the room Sonboly used for practicing shooting was completely soundproof.

The LKA also reported that Sonboly developed a hatred for South-Eastern European populations, many of the victims came from this circle. The shooting, however, was not politically motivated, according to the LKA.

The background check on Sonboly revealed that the 18-year-old was born and raised in Münich with no criminal record. The gunman was an Iranian-German with dual nationality. He lived in an apartment in the neighborhood of Maxvorstadt with his parents and younger brother. According to his neighbors, the 18-year-old grew up in a secular household. At the time, he had a part-time job distributing a local free newspaper. Neighbors described him as a “polite boy”. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said that he was the son of Shiite Muslims from Iran who came to Germany as asylum seekers in the 1990s. When asked, Sonboly’s parents told law enforcement authorities that their son had possibly converted to Christianity, but that he was not religious.

Since the parents of the gunman were aggressively threatened, and there were murders in the case (police did not disclose any information on the killings), they have been in the victim protection program since July 25. The parents live under a new name in an unknown place.

According to the German news outlet abendzeitung-muenchen.de, the Münich shooting case could be considered as a unique one. Such a situation, which happened shortly after the terrorist attack in Würzburg, had not existed before. However, the prosecutor’s office and the LKA did not admit this. After the incident, hundreds of officials were swarming the city searching for clues and evidence. Citizens reported numerous false alarms, more than 60 were reported just in the city of Münich alone.

Shortly after the Münich shooting incident, law enforcement authorities identified, tracked down and arrested the vendor who sold the shooter the Glock 17 gun and ammunition.

The 31-year-old suspect is accused of charges, including nine counts of negligent homicide and four counts of negligent bodily injury.

After his arrest, the vendor confessed and showed full cooperation with law enforcement authorities. He not just only testified against himself, but helped police in the arrest of several weapon vendors in the country.

“The arrest warrant was initially issued only because of the violation of the arms laws. The further investigation of the secured communication from the supposed arms dealer on the Darknet – the secret area of the Internet – however, showed indications of negligence. There was no evidence that the 31-year-old Marburger knew what the amok gunman had in mind,” Georg Ungefuk from the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office of Frankfurt said in a statement.

Shortly after German authorities discovered that the Münich shooter acquired his gun from the dark net, law enforcement in the country turned a massive focus on the dark net. That’s when Germany’s war against the dark side of the internet had started. It resulted in the arrest of more than a hundred dark net criminals, including narcotics vendors, weapon sellers, counterfeit currency dealers, and buyers of those.