According to the Police Headquarters Munich, the 36-year-old entered the Church of St Paul at around 9.30 pm, in which the Croatian Catholic community was celebrating Easter mass. The man came about an hour after the beginning of the service.
The dark-skinned man barged in screaming “Allahu Akbar.” According to reports, numerous churchgoers were injured.
He initially stormed through the main entrance of the church while strongly gesticulating. This frightened some churchgoers and many left the church in a hurry.
According to the latest details, the 36-year-old man from Somalia also threw several stones into the church. At first, the police were investigating whether he suffered from “mental confusion” but in the latest report of the police, his mental state is no longer being brought in question.
Visitors at the service held the disturber until law enforcement arrived. Some media said that witnesses had heard a loud bang, but the police made it clear that they had found no pyrotechnics or weapons on the accused.
The number of injured are said to be nine people. Four of them were taken to hospitals for further treatment. Previously, there had been talk of 24 injured, but the police corrected the initial figure.
According to the police, there were “uncontrolled reactions”, which resulted in a total of 9 people being “minimally injured”. Most of the injured were treated on-site as outpatients.
The 36-year-old was issued with an arrest warrant for attempted dangerous bodily harm and suspected disruption of public peace.