Deadly family drama shuts Oktoberfest for a day

MUNICH:

A German man went on a deadly gun, explosives and arson rampage against his family and then killed himself on Wednesday, sparking security fears in Munich that shuttered the Oktoberfest for seven hours.

A note he had dropped in a nearby letterbox included a vague threat to the world-famous beer festival, leading authorities to close the event while police with sniffer dogs searched the site.

Munich mayor Dieter Reiter then gave the all-clear in the afternoon and the event reopened in the evening.

The day of drama started before dawn when the 57-year-old man opened fire on his parents with a self-made weapon. He then set their house on fire, having earlier booby-trapped the building.

Police said he likely killed his 90-year-old father, whose body was seen but could not be recovered from the still-burning house in the city's leafy northern Lerchenau district.