A 16-year-old Afghan youth in police custody had been in contact via WhatsApp with an 18-year-old gunman who killed nine people in Munich two days earlier and also met him just before the attack, Bavarian officials said on Monday (July 25).
The youth, who was questioned after he contacted police following the shooting, is under investigation for possibly having failed to report the plans of the gunman.
Thomas Steinkraus-Koch, senior public prosecutor in Munich, told a news conference the Afghan had been in contact with the gunman via WhatApp until shortly before the attack. He wiped the conversation, but officials were able to retrieve it.
"This (WhatsApp) chat and questioning of the suspect has shown that the Afghan met the gunman directly before the gun attack at what was later the scene of the crime," Steinkraus-Koch said.
The shooting was one of four attacks in Germany since July 18 that have left 10 people dead and 34 injured.
The WhatsApp chat showed the Afghan knew the German-Iranian gunman was in possession of a Glock 17 firearm, Steinkraus-Koch said, adding that the two teenagers got to know each other in the summer of last year when undergoing psychiatric treatment.
The Afghan's decision to delete his WhatsApp chat with the gunman and their meeting just before the Munich attack led investigators to suspect he knew of the planned shooting in advance.
