A German soldier was accidentally shot by police during a large-scale Bundeswehr military exercise in the southern Bavarian city of Erding, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The incident occurred after residents reported seeing a man carrying a weapon, prompting a police response that included multiple units and a helicopter.
The soldier, who sustained minor injuries from the live ammunition, was treated in hospital and has since been discharged.
The exercise, known as Marshal Power, involves around 500 military police and hundreds of first responders from police, fire, and rescue services across a dozen Bavarian towns and cities north of Munich.
The drills simulate an attack on a NATO member state and are being conducted in public areas to rehearse coordinated responses.
Officials explained that a miscommunication on the scene led to the soldier being shot. Military police, firing practice rounds as part of the exercise, were mistaken for a threat by the responding police, who then fired live ammunition.
Bavarian authorities confirmed that the armed individual reported by residents was, in fact, a member of the German armed forces participating in the training exercise.
State criminal police, together with local law enforcement, have opened an investigation into the incident to determine the exact circumstances that caused the misfire.
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