1972年9月5日凌晨，8名巴勒斯坦“黑九月”组织的突击队员，按照事先安排好的计划，进入了以色列国代表队的奥运驻地，在以色列队员和官员的宿舍里，他们击毙了一名教练和一名闻声赶来的运动员，随后劫持了九名运动员作为人质。

September 5th, 1972. At approximately 4:30 in the morning, eight Palestinians, members of the terrorist organization Black September, scaled a chain link fence surrounding the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany and entered two apartments being used by Israeli athletes during the Olympic Games. Upon entry into the apartments, two Israeli's were killed. Then, the terrorists held nine Israeli athletes hostage.

恐怖分子提出要求马上释放关押在以色列的200多名巴勒斯坦囚犯和西德监狱中的囚犯。而以色列方面则坚决拒绝了"黑九月"分子提出释放囚犯的要求。另一方面，以色列希望西德当局派遣特种部队营救人质，但西德政府只同意由慕尼黑警察来负责营救人质的行动。

The Black September terrorists demanded the release of more than 200 Palestinians held in jails in Israel. They also demanded the release of two more Palestinians held in prisons in Germany. The Israeli's, no stranger to terrorist threats, rejected all demands by the terrorists. The Israeli's, in turn, offered the German government their special forces unit to assist in the recovery of their athletes. The Germans refused. The Germans would use their own police force which had no hostage rescue experience.

西德警方和埃及奥运代表队的负责人与恐怖分子进行谈判，提出可以支付给他们巨额赎金来释放人质，却被恐怖分子拒绝，只要求押带9名人质飞往开罗。警方于是答应了他们的要求。

The German police chief, Manfried Shreiber and Ahmed Touni, the head of the Egyptian Olympic team, negotiated with the terrorists. The Germans at one point offered the terrorists an unlimited amount of money to release the Israeli's. It is said that the response from the terrorists was that money meant nothing to them, their lives meant nothing to them. The terrorists demanded transport to Cairo. The German's agreed as a ploy to get the terrorists out of the apartments and into open view.

5日晚10点，“黑九月”分子押带人质乘坐两架直升机抵达机场，已等候多时的西德警方指挥官下令狙击手开火。恐怖分子自知上当，用手榴弹炸毁了直升机，机场霎时间乱作一团。随后双方展开激战。最后警察在清点尸体时，有5名歹徒被击毙，9名以色列人质则全部被恐怖分子杀害。慕尼黑奥运会的血腥一幕唤醒了主办者的安全保卫意识，使他们看到反对恐怖主义也是举办奥运会举足轻重的一环。

Ten o'clock the evening of the 5th, two helicopters took the terrorists and hostages to Furstenfeldbruck Airbase, where an airplane was waiting. Also waiting was the German police, with five snipers ready to take out the terrorists. Once the terrorists arrived at the airport, German authorities were found that there were eight terrorists. A firefight ensued, with two terrorists being killed and another wounded. As the early morning waned, one terrorist jumped out of the helicopter and threw a grenade back inside, blowing up the helicopter with four hostages inside. While the first helicopter burned, the remaining terrorists opened fire on the hostages in the second helicopter. In all, five terrorists were killed and three were captured. Nine Israeli athletes all were dead. One German policeman was killed. The bloody scene of Munich Olympics awakened organizers' security awareness, so that they realized that against terrorism is also a vital part of hosting the Olympic Games.