A mass shooting in Munich

FOR many months, as terrorist attacks have plagued France and Belgium, observers have wondered why Germany had not yet been affected. Now, in just the past week, two attacks have struck Bavaria. On July 22nd an 18-year-old with German and Iranian citizenship opened fire at a shopping mall in Munich, killing at least nine people before apparently committing suicide. Police say the shooter was a high-school student who suffered from depression.

Four days earlier a 17-year-old Afghan refugee wielding an axe and a knife attacked passengers on a train near Würzburg, injuring five people before being shot dead by police. The train attacker appears to have been influenced by Islamic State (IS) propaganda.