An early morning explosion of glass and the acrid smell of smoke greeted residents on January 25. When the fire department arrived at the scene, they found that all 23 police vehicles at a nearby station were engulfed in flames, with the police building also damaged by the intense heat. Bayern’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann described the incident as a “brand attack”with “terrorist undertones.”
The fire, which occurred on the parking lot of the Munich police’s canine unit, caused an estimated €2 million in damages, according to the city’s report. The building’s windows shattered due to the intense heat, but the fire did not spread to the building, thanks to the swift response of the fire department. Fortunately, no one was injured or in harm’s way at the time of the incident, as the area was empty, according to the fire department.
The police are investigating the incident as a deliberate act of arson and Munich’s Mayor Reiter believes the attack to be a “politically motivated attack.”In a written statement, the mayor stated, “It is suspected that this is an attack from the left-extremist camp. Attacks on our security forces are an attack on our democracy.”
Interior Minister Herrmann also described the incident as a “targeted arson attack”saying, “From my perspective, it has already shown terrorist undertones. This is a serious crime that targets those who work every day to ensure the safety of our citizens.”
The investigating authorities have not yet confirmed the left-extremist motivation, stating that the investigation is ongoing and will consider all leads. The state protection unit of the Munich police’s criminal department launched the investigation and searched the premises of the police unit, which is located in a somewhat remote area. Notably, the unit does not have a video surveillance system, according to the police.
In the past, there have been a string of extremist-motivated arson attacks on construction equipment and infrastructure in the Munich area, leading authorities to establish an investigative unit called “Raute.”It is unclear whether the current incident is connected to this group, as the police have not commented on the matter.
Despite the destruction of the police vehicles, the canine unit’s operational capabilities have not been significantly impacted, as they are in contact with other stations to obtain temporary use of vehicles.