Police in Munich issue warnings amid threat of potential terror attacks

As the world looks back on a year of heightened concerns about terror attacks, law enforcement officials worldwide are warning people to be cautious.

Munich police issued a warning Thursday night local time that a potential terror attack may be planned in Munich, as revelers prepare to ring in 2016.

Around 11:00 p.m. local time, police tweeted this message:

It reads: "Current indications that in Munich a terrorist attack is planned. Please avoid crowds and the train stations Hauptbahnhof + Pasing"

The message was tweeted around 11:40 p.m. local time.

The US Embassy in Berlin issued its own warning, urging US citizens in Germany to "bolster their personal security" amid the ongoing threat of terrorism. Here's more from that statement:

"There is a continuing threat in Europe from persons planning attacks inspired by major terrorist organizations but conducted on an individual basis."

Major cities in Europe have been on heightened alert after the Charlie Hebdo mass shooting in Paris that left 12 dead in January, and the November terror attacks in the French capital left 130 people dead.

Authorities in the United States have faced similar challenges in the wake of the San Bernardino massacre where 14 people were killed on December 2.

Police in New York arrested one man Thursday for allegedly plotting an attack on a restaurant. That arrest led offcials in Rochester, New York to cancel a previously planned New Year's Eve fireworks show.

 

Terrorism and, by extension, the threat of mass shootings have remained front-of-mind globally and in the United States in 2015. Since June this year, at least five mass shootings in the US have claimed the lives of 40 people.

In May, two gunmen opened fire on a Texas community center where an anti-Muslim group held a contest in which participants reportedly drew caricatures of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. Police killed the two gunmen. One officer was hurt in that incident.