Unintelligible scenes at a Bundeswehr exercise. The police started shooting at the German soldiers who were simulating an attack against NATO
German soldiers. Photo source: Thomas Fuhrmann / Alamy / Profimedia
A military exercise ended with one soldier injured after police opened fire in a moment of confusion on German troops training near Munich, Deutsche Welle reports.
A harmless exercise of the German army, which was supposed to be only a training for emergency situations, suddenly became an extremely serious situation, which could have had a tragic end, writes Bild.
The incident took place on Wednesday evening in the southern Bavarian town of Erding during a large-scale Bundeswehr exercise, German officials said.
A spokesman for the Bundeswehr's Operational Command told German media that a misunderstanding led to an exchange of fire between troops participating in the training and police called by local residents who reported “armed men on the streets”.
The soldier was released from hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries, according to the spokesman and local police.
How it all happened
Around 500 military police as well as hundreds of police officers, firefighters and rescue workers are involved in the “Marshal Power” exercise by the Bundeswehr.
Unlike other Bundeswehr training, this one takes place in public spaces in 12 Bavarian cities, including Erding, to rehearse the scenario of an attack on a NATO member state.
The German army had announced a few days before that “Marshal Power” was one of the largest and most complex military exercises in Bavaria in recent years. Among other things, cooperation with the civil forces in the area was practiced.
Special forces and a helicopter, sent to intervene
It all escalated after Bavarian police received reports of armed men on Wednesday night and sent multiple crews to the southeastern city of Erding, including a helicopter and special forces.
According to German daily Bild, military police fired training ammunition at the officers who arrived at the scene, believing it was part of the military exercise.
However, the police retaliated with live ammunition, shooting one of the soldiers participating in the exercise.
“Due to a misinterpretation at the scene, shots were fired,” Bavarian police said in a statement.
“It was later learned that the person with a weapon was a member of the German armed forces, who was on the scene as part of an exercise,” the statement added.
It is not clear why the police did not know about the training. An investigation has been opened into this incident.
