The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany has said he is shocked by the deadly shooting near the Israeli consulate in Munich.
“According to the latest information, it appears to be an Islamist attack again, as was the case in Solingen last week, when three people were murdered by an assassin,” said Josef Schuster.
Schuster’s comments came after reports by the Austrian Press Agency that the 18-year-old suspect had been suspected of links to the Islamic State terror group.
Authorities have not yet confirmed a motive for the attack, which came on the anniversary of the 1972 Munich massacre which saw 11 Israelis killed by Palestinian terrorists during the Olympic Games.
Schuster added: “We are in a permanent state of tension and threat. We must not let the enemies of the open society destroy our freedom and our lives.”
The president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, Charlotte Knobloch, also commented on the shooting.
“The feeling of insecurity will be further reinforced by this incident, not only in the Jewish community. The task for those with political responsibility is therefore very clear: violent extremism must be pushed back out of the public sphere again; anything else would be the end of our open society,” Knobloch said.
