Munich police shoot gunman dead amid 'major' operation in city center

LONDON -- Munich police shot dead a "suspicious person" in the Karolinenplatz area of the southern German city on Thursday morning, authorities said, having launched a "major operation."

Munich's police force said in a statement on social media that officers deployed to the scene encountered an armed 18-year-old suspect and engaged him in a shootout.

"The suspect was fatally injured," police said. "There are still no indications of further suspects or other injured persons."

The 18-year-old suspect was an Austrian citizen living in Austria, Munich police said. He was carrying an "older carbine with attached bayonet" when shot, officials said. The suspect parked a car near the crime scene, police said.

The area was cordoned off with a helicopter in the air above the scene, the force said. Police later issued an "all clear" statement assuring people in the area that "there is no longer any danger to the population."

The shooting occurred next to the city's Nazi Documentation Center, police said. Authorities urged residents to "avoid this area as much as possible" as the investigation continued, and warned of road closures and disruption to nearby public transit routes.

The Nazi Documentation Center is one of the city's most popular museums, located midway between the famous Karolinenplatz and Königsplatz squares just northwest of the medieval old town. It is less than 500 feet from the Israeli Consulate.

Israel's Foreign Ministry confirmed that there had been a "shooting incident" close to the consulate, noting that the facility was closed on Thursday coinciding with the anniversary of the deadly terror attack at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

"No one from the consulate staff was injured in the incident," the ministry's spokesperson said. "The shooter was neutralized by the German security forces and the incident is under their care."

ABC News' Joe Simonetti, Victoria Beaule and Dana Savir contributed to this report.