MUNICH: A German man went on a deadly gun, explosives and arson rampage against his family and then killed himself on Wednesday, sparking security fears in Munich that shuttered the Oktoberfest for seven hours.

A note he had dropped in a nearby letterbox inc­luded a vague threat to the world-famous beer festival, leading authorities to close the event while pol­ice with sniffer dogs sear­ched the site.

Munich mayor Dieter Reiter then gave the all-clear in the afternoon and the event reopened in the evening. The day of drama started before dawn when the 57-year-old man ope­ned fire on his parents with a self-made weapon. He then set their house on fire, having earlier booby-tra­pped the building.

Police said he likely killed his 90-year-old fat­her, whose body was seen but could not be recovered from the still-burning hou­se in the city’s leafy northern Lerchenau district.

The man also shot his 81-year-old mother, who was later taken to hospital with wounds not considered life-threatening. His 21-year-old daughter, a German-Brazilian dual national, was also injured but could be rescued by firefighters from the first floor, having threatened to jump to escape the flames, police said.

The unnamed man ran off after a police helicopter spotted him in the garden. After a short pursuit, he stopped in a lakeside park and shot himself in the head, police said.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2025