A German military exercise descended into chaos on Wednesday after a soldier was accidentally shot and injured by police officers. The incident took place in Erding, Bavaria and involved units from Germany’s military police.
A statement from the army said its military police were carrying out one their biggest and most complex exercises in recent years. Around 500 soldiers were training in public spaces, and preparing for a defence scenario around Munich. The exercise – known as Marshal Power 2025 – also involved the participation of roughly 300 police officers, firefighters, and rescue workers.
Unfortunately, neither local residents nor the Erding police force appeared to have been informed of the exercise.
Residents became alarmed when they spotted masked individuals with weapons lurking in farm buildings, according to the newspaper Bild.
They rang the local police branch, which issued a full-scale alert and sent officers to investigate.
However, when the officers arrived at the scene, the military police opened fire on them using blanks, believing it was all part of the exercise.
Fearing they were under attack, the police officers returned fire with live ammunition. As a result, a soldier was shot anf suffered a graze to his face, before being flown to hospital for further treatment.
The area has been cordoned off, and authorities have launched an investigation into the accidental shooting.
Police stressed that there was and is no danger to the public in an attempt to reassure local residents.
The exercise comes in the wake of the sighting of a series of unidentified drones that caused nearby Munich Airport to close.
On October 2nd, several drones were sighted in the vicinity of and on the grounds of Munich Airport. Initially, areas around the airport, including Freising and Erding, were affected.