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At least one person was killed early Wednesday after an explosion and fire tore through a residential building in Munich, prompting authorities to block roads, close a local school and temporarily shut down the Oktoberfest grounds over a bomb threat.
Munich police said the fire on Lerchenauer Street in the city’s north was deliberately set in connection with a family dispute.
Explosive devices were later found inside the building.
Firefighters were called to the apartment building in the Lerchenau district around 4:40 a.m. local time.
Bild daily reported that a man was found dead and was suspected of causing the fire and explosions before killing himself.
A second person was found with gunshot wounds.
“There is currently no danger to the public,” a police spokesman told Bild, stressing there was “no connection to the Oktoberfest” underway elsewhere in the city.
Hours later, organizers of the world-famous beer festival announced a bomb threat had been received and that the Theresienwiese grounds would remain closed until at least 5:00 p.m.
“Due to a bomb threat in connection with the explosion in northern Munich, Theresienwiese will remain closed until 5:00 p.m. for the time being,” the festival said on its website.
Police said they were investigating possible links between the devices found in the building and the threat against Oktoberfest.
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