A Bundeswehr exercise turned into a real-life incident in the Bavarian town of Erding when members of the military police taking part in military training opened fire on police officers, who returned fire with live fire, injuring one soldier.

Police say there is “complete ambiguity” surrounding the situation, and the misunderstanding appears to have been caused by a lack of coordination between military and police authorities.

According to BILD, dozens of police, fire and emergency services were deployed to the Hohenlindener Straße area in Altenerding early Wednesday evening, while a police helicopter was flying over the scene.

A police spokesman said: “At present I can only confirm that an operation is underway. More information will be provided later.”

Army exercise gone wrong

Information from BILD states that the Bundeswehr police conducted an exercise in the area. Residents who saw hooded men with guns moving around barns called 911, prompting state police to raise a full-scale alert.

When the police arrived at the scene, the soldiers thought their arrival was part of the exercise and opened fire with training rounds. The policemen, believing they were under real fire, returned fire with real weapons, injuring a Bundeswehr soldier. According to information, the soldier was not seriously injured and was taken by helicopter to the hospital.

BILD sources say that police forces were involved in the planning of the exercise, however it remains unclear why the local police in Erding were not informed.