Oktoberfest in Munich was temporarily closed on Wednesday following an explosion at an apartment building in the north of town.The decision was made to delay opening of the iconic Bavarian festival until 5:30 p.m. local time after a letter was recovered at the scene containing a "non-specific" bomb threat to the event.According to the Bavarian Police, reports of a fire and "loud bangs" at a residential building on Glockenblumenstraße in Lerchenau, which is 9 km north of the fair grounds, came in shortly after 4:30 a.m. When authorities arrived on scene, they evacuated the area and moved in to defuse what were believed to be explosive devices.The suspect, a 57-year-old German citizen who lived in the town of Starnberg some 26 km southwest of Munich, is believed to have committed suicide near Lake Lerchenau. Other victims are said to be his 81-year-old mother and 21-year-old German-Brazilian daughter. They sustained injuries and are being treated in hospital. A third person, who authorities said could be the man's 90-year-old father, is missing.None of their names have been released.During the course of the investigation, the aforementioned letter allegedly written by the suspect was discovered. Officers were immediately deployed to the Oktoberfest fair grounds — known as the Theresienwiese — to check for explosives. At one point, there were over 500 officers working the case.A thorough check of the Theresienwiese revealed no danger, and Oktoberfest was given the green light to re-open..Due to a high level of spam content being posted in our comment section below, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). Your patience is appreciated.
