Security beefed up for Munich Oktoberfest 2016

Oktoberfest 2016 is the world's biggest beer festival and Munich is taking precautions to prevent any terrorist attack in the event that is expected to attract more than six million visitors. Backpacks and large bags have been banned and the number of security cameras has risen from 19 to 29.
It has opened with long queues to get into the beer tents and will continue till 3 October.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 17 September 2016.

The venue of the festival is the 75-acre Theresienwiese site and every visitor has to go through security checks that is conducted by a team of 450 guards. During peak periods, there will be 600 police officers - this will be nearly 100 more than last year.
The security services continue to remain on high alert after Bavaria was hit by three attacks in a week in July, two of which were claimed by Islamic State. In one instance, a 17-year-old, who had sought asylum in Germany, was shot dead by police after he ran amok with an axe and knife on a train near the city of Wuerzburg. He left five people wounded, three of them seriously.
There are a total of 14 halls at this year's event, which dates back to 1810. In spite of the wet weather conditions, people began to queue up at 4:30 am because they were keen to see the mayor of Munich Dieter Reiter tap the first keg at noon.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Lone wolf attack in Munich mall kills 10 including the attacker

In a lone wolf attack in Munich, at least nine people were killed and 16 others injured in the shooting rampage at a busy shopping district in Munich, Germany. There were many children among the casualties. The gunman started shooting at a McDonald's across from the Olympia mall which is adjacent to the site of the 1972 Olympics.
The mall is located in a middle-class neighborhood in northern Munich and is the city's biggest mall as well as a popular destination for shoppers on Friday nights.
The unidentified attacker was an 18-year-old German-Iranian who had been living in the city for at least two years. This has been reported in edition.cnn.com dated 23 July 2016.

The police searched for more attackers presuming that there were three of them but found a man who had killed himself on a side street near Olympia shopping mall and concluded that this man was the gunman. This decision was also based on surveillance video and statements of witnesses.
The unidentified attacker was not known to police and his motives are unclear. No group has claimed responsibility for this attack. This latest incident of shooting comes as recent terrorist attacks have put Europe on high alert especially after the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France in which 84 people were killed.


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