Arson attacks on defence firms in Munich: Two Bulgarians arrested
Incendiary devices were thrown at a building housing defence firms in Munich. Two Bulgarian nationals were arrested shortly afterwards.
Politically motivated attack on Munich defence site suspected
Unidentified individuals threw incendiary devices from a moving vehicle at a building complex housing defence companies in the Munich district of Berg am Laim during the night. According to 20 Minuten, the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) and the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office are assuming a political background and have therefore taken over the investigation.
Eyewitnesses alerted police around midnight. Responding officers extinguished an already burning incendiary device; a second one failed to ignite and was later defused. According to police, material damage remained minor.
Shortly afterwards, officers stopped two suspects from the getaway vehicle at a nearby petrol station as part of an immediate search operation. They are a 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, both Bulgarian nationals. The extent to which they were involved in the act is, according to investigators, the subject of ongoing investigations.
Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) confirmed the suspected political background. Investigators were in close contact with German and European security authorities to gather further information about those arrested, he said in Nuremberg. "We cannot say more about this at present."
The LKA pointed out that there is a construction site in front of the affected building. The investigators nevertheless assume that the throws were deliberately aimed at the building complex housing the defence firms. The authorities made no further statements about the individual companies located there.
Technology and security conglomerate Rohde & Schwarz confirmed that there was a police and fire service operation "in the vicinity" of its operating site in Munich during the night. The site itself had not been affected, the company stated.
Bavaria's Economic Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) described the incident as an "attack on Bavaria's economy". Technology companies with connections to the security and defence industry have not for the first time come into the sights of attackers, he said in Munich. The incidents forced the affected businesses to implement "further costly security measures".
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry told AFP that it was monitoring the case closely. The Bulgarian General Consulate in Munich was in direct contact with the competent German authorities, which had already confirmed the identity of those arrested. German authorities emphasised that investigations were still in an early stage.
Source: 20 Minuten