How is that possible? – Emrah I. was able to buy a gun despite the gun ban

The Munich attacker had a history of violence, was fascinated by the terrorist militia of IS and yet was still part of the mainstream of society. He lived with his parents in an attractive residential area in Salzburg. Neighbors were completely surprised by his performance during the local inspection “Krone”. It is said that he was inconspicuous.

There is still room for failure on the part of the authorities. Because of his previous behavior outside his neighborhood, Emrah I was not allowed to use weapons until the end of 2028. Now it turns out: that apparently did not stop him from buying a gun in Salzburg shortly before his trip to Munich.

The 18-year-old is said to have bought the World War II repeating rifle from a local gun collector the day before his crime. It was a so-called Category C weapon. According to the Arms Act, these are guns that have to be reloaded manually after each shot.

Family members reported him missing
According to reports, Emrah I was not a “classical Islamist.” While he was on his way to Munich on Thursday with the long gun, relatives reported his disappearance.

As confirmed by security circles, a family member appeared at a police station in Salzburg and reported the boy’s sudden disappearance. There were said to be no recent signs that he would open fire on police officers in Munich with an old-fashioned carbine with a bayonet attached to it.

Emrah I was known to the authorities
Last year, however, the then 17-year-old caught the eye. The Salzburg Public Prosecutor’s Office had opened an investigation into him because he was a terrorist organization (§278b StGB). His mobile phone was confiscated after he had dangerously threatened classmates and caused bodily harm. When examining the device, three videos were found: the then young man had recorded fragments from a computer game in which he playfully reenacted terrorist acts.

From the police perspective, “there was a suspicion that he was religiously radicalized, active online and interested in explosives and weapons,” the Salzburg State Police said in a press release. According to reports, Emrah I. had changed during the pandemic. Before that, he was called a good HTL student. Due to his change in personality, he became increasingly isolated and dropped out of school at the beginning of the year.

The Salzburg State Office for State Security and Combating Extremism (LSE) sent the public prosecutor’s office a total of five reports on the 18-year-old. The Salzburg Public Prosecutor’s Office dropped the investigation into the terror allegations in April 2023. However, the boy was given a weapons ban. The 18-year-old did not appear before the police again until Thursday morning.

Germany was not informed
Authorities in Germany were apparently unaware that a potential “threat” was just a few minutes’ drive away. Bavarian police confirmed Friday that they had no information about the slain gunman. A database query on the 18-year-old Austrian with Bosnian roots came back negative, a spokesman for the Bavarian State Criminal Investigation Department (LKA) said.

According to extremism experts like Peter R. Neumann, the lack of a European threat dossier is an urgent problem. “Whoever opens the borders and creates a common space of movement (i.e. Schengen) must also ensure that security authorities cooperate smoothly,” he said on the X platform.

According to information from the German Press Agency (dpa), German security circles assume that the suspect had ties to the Islamist group HTS. HTS stands for “Haiat Tahrir al-Sham”, a militant Islamist militia. The Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution writes that HTS was formed in 2017 from the merger of a former offshoot of Al Qaeda and several smaller militant Syrian groups. Unlike Al Qaeda, which continues to plan attacks in the West, HTS focuses on Syria and wants to overthrow local ruler Bashar al-Assad.

The search for backgrounds continues
Domestic investigators have not yet been able to prove any Islamist connections: a search of the 18-year-old’s home in Neumarkt am Wallersee was carried out late into the night after the foiled suspected terrorist attack.

According to the available information, no other weapons or other suspicious objects – such as insignia of terrorist organizations or propaganda material – have been discovered. The furnishings of the room of the boy, who lives with his parents, do not show any connection with Islamist ideas.

Even outwardly, the 18-year-old who was shot by police did not look like an Islamist. He was wearing only red pants and a shirt when he set off in the family carriage with his weapon in his luggage to Munich to open fire.